Sustainable Energy Planning for Industrial Clusters in Aba, Abia State, South East Nigeria

Industrial clusters in Aba, Abia State, South East Nigeria, comprising shoe manufacturing, garment production, and metalwork enterprises, face severe energy constraints that limit productivity and competitiveness, relying almost entirely on costly and polluting diesel generators in the absence of reliable grid supply. This study develops a sustainable energy plan for selected industrial clusters in Aba, evaluating demand aggregation, solar-diesel hybrid systems, natural gas connections, and energy efficiency investments as complementary interventions for improving energy access and reducing production costs. Energy demand assessments were conducted across 85 enterprises in three cluster areas using standardised audit tools, documenting machine load profiles, operating hours, fuel consumption, and energy cost as a share of production expenses. Technology options were evaluated through multi-criteria analysis incorporating capital cost, energy cost savings, supply chain risks, and cluster-level implementation complexity. Financial modelling under a shared energy infrastructure framework demonstrates that aggregated procurement of solar-diesel hybrid systems across cluster members reduces capital cost per enterprise by 28 percent relative to individual installations. The study recommends establishment of an Aba Industrial Energy Cooperative to aggregate demand, negotiate bulk equipment prices, and manage shared infrastructure. Engagement with Abia State Investment and Economic Summit framework is proposed as a vehicle for public-private co-investment. Keywords: sustainable energy planning, industrial clusters, Aba, South East Nigeria, energy cost reduction.