a.
1 Oodo Ogidi Stephen +86 13478724681, oodo9@yahoo.com
2 Zou Jiyan +86 411 84707336, jyzou@dlut.edu.cn
Electrical Engineering Department, Dalian University of Technology, China 116024
ABSTRACT
For generations coal has been used as a source of Energy by industries and several utility companies.
In China, India, USA and all the industrialized countries of the world, coal is used to produce huge amount of electric power. Harnessing Coal for coal-Fired power plant is a major undertaking, careful planning is necessary if a successful and economical power plant is to result.
There is enormous exploitable coal-fired power plant potential in Nigeria, but despite this Nigeria has a non- existence a of coal-fired power plant utilization, which currently stands at less 2 percent. Central,
Eastern and some parts of western Nigeria, has many coal deposit site providing excellent opportunities for coal fired power plant development and utilization, the federal government of
Nigeria has recently placed a high priority on using these resources to increase the electricity generation capacity. This paper therefore looks at the prospects of Coal fired power plant and its proven technology in Benue state of Nigeria that can be connected to the Nigerian National Grid, isolated grid or as a stand-alone option and can be combined with the development of coal for industrial and household use. The paper recommends that a medium coal-fired power plant built in
Benue state can contribute to the electricity need of Nigeria.
Index Terms- Coal Fired, National Grid, Coal Deposit, Isolated Grid, Stand alone operation
1.
Introduction
For the past five years the Nigerian Government has recognize the need to revitalized the country’s coal mining industry to provide fuel for power generation and domestic use.
Nigerian’s electric power generating and grid distribution capacity is presently under 4000MW, while it is estimated that the demand for power currently is between 20,000MW to 25,000MW, power in Nigeria is currently generated from several Hydro- Power , gas-fired , and supplemented by several small but expensive diesel and petrol generators in towns and villages. The excessive reliance on the current form of generation of electricity in Nigeria is characterized by frequent power failure and load shedding, costing the nation about $1 billion per annum (2.5% of GDP), while coal reserve remains unutilized.
There is also a significant potential domestic demand for coal briquettes to replace wood for cooking, domestic and industrial heating.
This paper looks at the development and utilization of a coal power plant in Benue state of Nigeria.
It highlights the need for a 2 X 50MW coal fired- Plant to be located in Makurdi by the banks of river
Benue , with coal from the Owukpa coal Mine transported to the Oturpo by trucks and to Makurdi by Rail, relevant conclusion are made using the available coal deposit in owukpa coal mine.
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2. Electric Power Generation in Nigeria .
The Current Source of Nearly all Electric Power Generation in Nigeria is from the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria PHCN. For generations the main types of Generating Stations are from several hydro- powers gas-fired, diesel-fired, and supplemented by several small but expensive diesel and petrol generators.
The installed available capacity of the Generating Station of the Power holding Company of Nigeria PHCN is as indicated in Fig 1 Below
POWER
STATION
Egbin
Sapele
Delta
Kainji
Afam
Shiroro
Jebba
Ajaokuta
Ijora
Orji river
Papalanto
Others
Total
AVAILABILITY
FACTOR MW
0.4817
0.1776
0.4092
0.5210
0.2509
0.8761
0.8323
0.0000
0.6666
0.0000
0.2507
0.3913
0.4606
CAPACITY
888.00
435.00
640.00
500.00
383.00
600.00
578.00
0.00
40.00
0.00
84.00
46.00
4062.00
AVALABILITY
635.90
181.14
373.20
395.96
156.29
525.68
481.42
0.00
40.00
0.00
84.00
18.00
2975.59
INSTALLED
CAPACITY
1320.00
1020.00
912.00
760.00
623.00
600.00
578.39
110.00
60.00
30.00
335.00
46.00
6459.79
Table 1: Generation Capacity of power stations operated by PHCN
From fig.1, it shows that the total install capacity is about 6459.79MW while the available capacity is about
4062.00MW; the maximum load ever recorded was about 3.083MW and with about 40% generation and distribution loses. Full scale implementation of the total installed capacity is hindered by, severe under funding and under capitalization, inappropriate capital structure, excessive executive interference, hug investment gab, uncompetitive and poorly motivated workforce, lack of appropriate local technology that may be critical in maintenance and repair of the generating sets, or lack of operational local capacity to operate the units at Full Scale. The consequence is a structural imbalance between electricity power demand and supply in Nigeria. Which experts says will be about 25000MW by 2010
2.1 Potential Coal Mines sites with reserves in Nigeria
In order to produce reasonable electricity supply from Coal it is imperative to have a large deposit of coal with high potential for development in the area where the coal power plant will be located and it also requires,
• Availability of data on quantity and quality of coal.
• Completion of environmental and social assessments of the coal site
Coal was first discovered in Nigeria in 1909 further detailed survey by the Geological Survey of Nigeria indicated reserves in Enugu, Afikpo, Okaba, Owukpa etc and the record also shows that Sub-bituminous coal is the major type of coal found in Nigeria, it is an excellent feed stock for coal fired power plant requiring no beneficiation. Fig 2 shows the existing coal reserves in Nigeria
2

18
19
20
15
16
17
S/N
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Mine
Location
Okpara Mine
Onyeama
Mine
Ihioma
Ogboyoga
State
Enugu
Enugu
Imo
Kogi
Ogwashi
Azagba/
Obomkpa
Ezimo
Delta
Enugu
Enugu Inyi
Lafia/Obi Nassarawa
Oba/Nnewi Anambra
Type of coal
Sub-Bituminous
Estimated
Reserves (Mil.
T)
Proven
Reserves
(Mil. T)
100 24
Borehole
Records
20
Coal Outcrop and seam
Thickness
(M)
Depth of coal
(M)
Mining
Method
Many (1.5m) 180 Underground
Sub-
Bituminious
Lignite
Sub- Bituminous
Lignite
150
40
427
250
40
N.A
107
63
Many Many (1.5m) 180 Underground
Nil
31
7
Many 20-80 Open-cast
17 (0.8.2.3m) 20-100 Open-cast/
Underground
4(3.5m) 15-100 Open-cast/
Underground
Sub-Bituminous
Sub-Bituminuos
Bituminous
(Cokable)
Lignite
10 Afikpo/Okigw e
11 Amasiodo
Ebonyi/Imo Sub-Bituminous
Enugu
12 Okaba Kogi
Bituminous
(Cokable)
Sub-Bituminous
13 Owukpa Benue Sub-Bituminous
156
50
156
30
50
1000
250
75
56
20
21.42
N.A
N.A
N.A
3
57
4
4
123
2
Nil
3
Many
Many
(10.06-2.0m) 30-43
(0.9-2.0m)
Nil (1.3m)
25-78
80
Open-cast/
Underground
Open-cast/
Underground
Underground
14
(0.3-4.5m)
N.A
18-38 Underground
20-100 Underground
N.A. 563 Underground
(0.8-2.3m) 20-100 Open-cast/
Underground
(0.8-2.3m) 10-100 Open- cast
14 Ogugu/Awgu Enugu Sub-Bituminous N.A. N.A. Nil N.A. N.A. Underground
Afuji
Ute
Doho
Edo
Ondo
Sub-Bituminous
Sub-Bituminous
Gombe Sub -Bituminous
N.A.
N.A.
N.A
N.A.
N.A.
N.A
Nil
Nil
Nil
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
Underground
Underground
Underground
Kurumu
Lamja
Garin maigungu
Gombe Sub -Bituminous
Adamawa Sub -Bituminous
Bauchi Sub -Bituminous
N.A
N.A
N.A
N.A
N.A
N.A
Nil
Nil
Nil
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
Underground
Underground
Underground
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21 Gindi Akwati Plateau Sub -Bituminous N.A N.A Nil N.A. N.A. Underground
22 Jamato koji Kwara Sub -Bituminous N.A N.A Nil N.A. N.A. Underground
Fig. 2 Exiting Coal Deposit in Nigeria -Source the place of Coal in the Nigeria Electricity generation scheme
State
Boreholes Drilled
Resource Estimation
Heating Value
Moisture
Ash
Sulphur
Benue
14
48m tonnes
5.550 Kcal/kg
11.80%
11.20%
0.4%
Fig3. Coal Deposit Data Owukpa Coal Site Benue state.
Source: Ministry of Mines and Steel Development
3. Coal-Fired Power Plant Development and potential in Benue State
From Fig 3, the records of the quantity and quality of the coal available at the deposit site at the Owukpa coal site in Benue state of Nigeria-The Owukpa coal Site has a deposit of about 49Mt of Sub-bituminous coal.
Sub-bituminous coal provides a lot f heat and it burns slowly, it is excellent as a fuel for coal-fired Power
Plant and could be used effectively for electric power generation.
Coal fired power plant are usually located near a river or lake because large quantities of cooling water are needed to condense the steam as it exhaust from the turbines. The primary source energy (coal) is then transported by ship, train or trucks to the generating plant.
The proposed 100 MW plant can be sited in Makurdi by the banks of the river Benue,This proposal is for the power supply to be connected with the national grid and the coal transported to plant first to Otukpo from Owukpa by trucks and then to Makurdi by Rail, coal stockyard and dry cool booth to be installed at otukpo and makurdi with dry coal capacity of 15 days usage. Benue state can generate 100MW from the plant; the excess electricity will be sold to the national grid on a long-term power purchase agreement basis.
Benue State requires about 52MW of electricity daily from the National grid.
A typical 100MW coal plant requires about 2200T of coal fuel daily, and 10,000C/M of water per day. For coal-Fired power plant with a capacity of 100MW with an average utilization capacity of 75 percent, The
Owukpa coal site has a enough reserve to last for 76 years. Benue state can generate this power and sell to the grid.
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Fig 4: Diagram of a Coal-Fired power Plant
3.1 Projected Investment and Maintenance Cost
Coal-Fired Plants usually have specific overnight construction cost ranging between 1000 and 1500
USD/kWe. And the construction time is between 2 to 4 years for most plants. Fuel prices during the life time of the plant vary widely from country to country. The coal prices in 2010 vary by a factor of twenty, and nearly half of the responses indicate price escalation during the economic lifetime of the plant while the other half indicates that the price will be stable.
At 5% discount rate, the economic assessment of the cost of generating electricity for the Coal-fired plant is range between 25 and 60 USD/MWh. this includes the cost of initial investment about 35%, operation and maintenance cost 20%, and cost of Fuel 45%.
At 10% discount rate, the economic assessment of the cost of generating electricity for the Coal-fired plant is range between 35 and 50 USD/MWh, this includes the cost of initial investment about 50%, operation and maintenance cost 15%, and cost of Fuel 35%.The reform in the electricity market has changed the decision making in the power sector and has led investors into upgrading or investing in Coal-Fired power plant., in china coal is the dominate fuel and it meets over 70% of the countries energy demand, 78% of
China’s electricity is generated from coal and it hopes to reach 800GW by 2030 much of it from Coal
India has over 173 coal-fired power plants with installed capacity of 29,131MW that are between 11-20 years old and 122 Coal-Fired power plants with an installed capacity of 17786MW that are between 21-30 years old these power plants are still unused and will still be operational for the next 2 to 3 decades The
United State of America has over 600 Coal-fired power plants in operation, coal-fired power plant generates 52% of the U.S. electricity most of them more than 30-40 years old, more than 150 new Coalfired power plants are being built or proposed across U.S.
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Fig.5 Global Projection of Electricity Generation by Fuel Type.
Source: world coal institute
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Po la nd
S.
Af rica
Au st ra lia
P
R
C hi na
Isra el
Ka za kh st an
In di a
Mo ro cco
C ze ch
R ep ub lic
G re ece U
SA
G erma ny
Fig. 6 Top 12 countries in the world that use coal for electricity Generation
Source world coal institute
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3.2
Benefits of a coal-fired power plant to Benue state
Coal-Fired power plant is the lowest-cost source of reliable power, it is also a source of energy. Modern coal-fired power plant emits 90% less air pollution than previous generations and less carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilowatt produced.
Some of the benefit of a coal power plant in Benue state includes:

Increase the KWh of electricity produced in Nigeria.

Provides low cost, reliable and security power

Coal exploration will produce millions of Naira to the gross domestic product (GDP)

It will produce millions of naira to household income

It will create hundreds of Job opportunities.

It will create the drive for coal exploration and production activities

It will attract both local and foreign investors in coal exploration and production..

Provide the necessary incentives for the production coal stove at affordable price.

It will serve as an alternative to fuel wood

It will strengthen the local technical and institutional capacity and foster coal-fired industries

It will contribute to the local economy and promote domestic coal industries and provide incentives to both local and foreign investors for the establishment of coal-based industries
4.0. Conclusion.
Nigeria faces a severe energy crisis today with about 60 per cent of its electricity–generating capacity broken down due to decades of neglect by the federal government of Nigeria. Even by 2015, the experts says The Nigeria power stations cannot be guaranteed to provide it with a continuous supply ,meaning that we face the possibility power cuts far worse than those which we have now. The impact of the power outage on Nigerians will be far damaging than what we have today. For the past 5 years power holding company of Nigeria (PHCN) has not built a new power station and has neglected the maintenance of its ageing stations most of which is gas-Fired. Now the electricity demand has exceeded the system capacity.
Part of the cause of this crisis is that is that for more than three decades we went for gas-fired power stations, in the days when there was still abundant of cheap gas, with the present soaring of gas price , it s becoming expensive to run those plants. gas –fired plants are used in most countries of the world as intermediate peaking plants because of the high price of natural gas, compared to coal and nuclear generated electricity.
Building a mass of new coal –fired plants will be the most sensible to fill the gap, to supply back what we have lost in decades.
Benue state needs to intensify the drive for coal exploration and production at the owukpa , develop and have adequate infrastructures ,for handling and transportation of the coal from owukpa to otukpo by road and Via Rail from Otukpo to Makurdi the site of the Coal-fired power plant.
Coal –fired power plants take time to build, and the time to start is now, if the country is to avoid power shortages as existing power stations has aged and the economy has grown.
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5.0
.
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[2] Peter Fairly, China Coal future, Technology Review, 14 th march 2007
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[5] Wim jonker. Small hydropower Development in Africa, Hydropower, ESi Africa issue 2 2007
‘
[6] US dept. of States Power generation and transmission task force “Summary of Action plan and projects.”. Fact
Sheets Oct 31 2006.
[7] Ogbonnaya I okoro, EChikuni, P Govender, Energy webduepage ‘’Prospects of wind energy in Nigeria’’
Cput.ac.Za papers 2007/0230
[5] Prof A.S .Sombo “the place of coal in the Nigeria Electricity Generation Scheme”, 41th annual general Meeting ,
Nigeria society of Engineers, Bauchi, Nigeria . 24 th -28 th November 2008
[5] The power industry In Nigeria “New Directions “national Workshop on private sector Participation in the Power industry. 10 th Dec 1996.
[7] Presentation at investors forum Frankfruk “Overview of the Nigerian’s power sector Reform “, Nov. 2002
[8] Executive Summary “Electric Cost Summary” IEA/NEA Summary
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