The Nigerian Government will build a 30 megawatts (hybrid) pilot wind farm at Jaredi in Shagari local government area of Sokoto State.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations, Senator Adeleke Mamora, stated this during the opening ceremony of the 3-day expanded stakeholders’ engagement and interactive consultation on the proposed project at Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto.
According to the Minister, the choice of Sokoto State could not be over emphasised as all available data and reports suggest it has favourable renewable energy potentials.
“It is imperative to say that Nigeria will continue to explore new ways to increase her renewable energy deployment in the quest to overcome the energy crises bedeviling the country.
“You may recall that the recently concluded COP 27 in Egypt came at a critical moment in the fight against climate change, and has emphasised on the need to expand our energy access, decarbonize the global energy system and transform our approach to powering the global economy,” the Minister noted.
He stated that government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, since 2015 has been working tiresless to provide enabling environment for private investments in to the energy sector.
Mamora praised Governor Tambuwal for his support to the ministry toward actualising the stakeholders engagement in the state.
The Minister further expressed his appreciation to Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad, members of National and State assemblies, commissioners and other relevant stakeholders for gracing the ceremony.
Declaring the stakeholders engagement open, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, expressed confidence that, if the project was successfully implemented, it would go a very long way in addressing the power needs of the underserved and unserved segments of the society.
Independent Power Plant
The Governor however, requested the Nigerian government to compensate for and take over the 13-year old Uncompleted state Independent Power Plant.
The plant which was awarded in 2008 by Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko’s government had so far consumed N5.5 billion.
Tambuwal who was represented by Secretary to the State Government, Muhammad Mainasara, said that the project had consumed so much of the state’s lean financial resources and constitutes a burden that was too heavy for the state to shoulder alone.
“We are indeed, open to discussions on the matter with the federal authorities beyond this forum,” he noted.
Also speaking, the Director General, Energy Commission of Nigeria, Professor Eli Bala, said the country was endowed with technical potentials estimated at about 210GW of Solar PV and 3.2GW of wind using 1% of suitable land, while hydropower stands at about 34GW.
He noted that, Nigeria has very good energy policy and plan approved by the government.
“However, it’s challenges have been in implementation due to lack of fund, poor articulation of project proposals and use of unbankable data,” he added.
Confidence Okwuchi
