Environmental Management Implications of the Nigerian Energy Transition Plan for the North West Zone

This study examines the environmental management implications of Nigeria's Energy Transition Plan for the North West geopolitical zone, assessing how the planned transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources will affect environmental conditions, land use, water resources, and ecological systems in Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, and Kaduna States. The North West zone possesses significant solar energy potential and is a priority zone for the Energy Transition Plan's off-grid renewable energy expansion, but the environmental consequences of large-scale solar PV deployment, bioenergy crop cultivation, and associated infrastructure development in this ecologically sensitive and agriculturally important region require professional environmental management assessment. The study draws on the Energy Transition Plan documentation, spatial analysis of proposed project locations against ecological and agricultural land use maps for the North West zone, the Nigerian Environmental Assessment Act provisions for strategic environmental assessment, and interviews with twelve environmental management professionals and six renewable energy sector representatives. Analysis identifies the environmental management dimensions requiring most urgent attention, including land use competition between solar PV arrays and food production in land-scarce communities, ecological sensitivity of proposed transmission corridor routes, water requirements of bioenergy feedstock production in a water-stressed region, and end-of-life solar panel waste management planning. Recommendations include commissioning a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Energy Transition Plan for the North West zone and integrating environmental management conditions into renewable energy project permit requirements. Keywords: energy transition, renewable energy, environmental management, North West Nigeria, solar energy.