Nigeria’s largest solar power plant goes into operation

The largest solar power plant in Nigeria has gone in to operation. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the plant in Kumbotso Local Government Area in Kano State.

This the first ever grid-connected solar power plant in the Federal Republic of Nigeria was developed at a cost of US $15M and has a capacity of 10 MWp. The project, which was tendered in 2020, is being implemented by Haske Solar Company, a special purpose vehicle set up at the request of the Federal Government by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). Haske Solar is therefore 80% owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, 15% by Kano State and 5% by Kumbotso Local Government.

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Clean energy

The solar park covers a 24-hectare site just 16 km from Kumbotso. At the construction stage, the project created 300 direct jobs and indirect jobs (transportation, food and beverage, hospitality etc) in excess of 2,000.

“This is currently the largest grid-connected solar plant and is proof of a successful medium-sized solar deployment in Nigeria. The park will catalyse the growth of the power sector, as it shows that renewable projects of this scale can be achieved,” said Aminu Sagir, the managing director of Nsia at the inauguration ceremony.

The plant is equally a personal goal achieved by President Muhammadu Buhari, a globally recognized champion of awareness creation and the mitigation of climate change. He is a recognized promoter of biodiversity and a strong advocate of clean energy sources. Currently, Nigeria has an installed capacity of over 16,000 MW, of which 2,000 MW is from renewable sources.