Oritsebugbemi Omatseyin
Lagos — As part of a solution to the challenges in the power sector, The Northern States Governors’ Forum has incorporated a special purpose vehicle to build 100MW solar plants across the 19 states and the FCT.
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai disclosed this while delivering His keynote address at the ongoing Nigerian Energy conference in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, Governor Nasir El-Rufai said “Many governors understand that the states of the Northwest and Northeast zone have a comparative advantage in electricity production using renewables, in particular solar, wind, and hydro. In addition to renewables, the Northcentral zone is also well positioned to generate power from coal. The southern states are closer to the main gas supply sources and are thus in a position to generate more from thermal sources like coal and gas, in addition to, a lesser extent renewable like solar and wind.”
“In recognition of this, the Northern States Governors’ Forum has incorporated a special purpose vehicle to build 100MW solar plants across the 19 states and the FCT, with an initial total capacity of 2,000MW, that may be expanded to 4,000MW. Kaduna State has already provided the land for its 100MW solar farm to be developed under this initiative, in addition to 10 other Northern States. These 2,000MW are expected to be mostly off-grid to avoid over-burdening our perenially weak national transmission network. All these projects are approaching financial closure, and we appreciate the roles played by the Federal Ministry of Finance, NBET, NERC, NSIA, Africa Finance Corporation, and our partner Skipper in getting to this point within a short period”
Governor Nasir El-Rufai stated that in addition, Kaduna State is building two 100MW and one 50MW grid-connected solar power plants with private sector partners. We have also conducted preliminary surveys and mapped out over 8,000 off-grid communities that are ready to partner with private solar developers to provide smart and reliable minigrids to energize their livelihoods.
“The Kaduna State Government has also acquired two gas-powered turbines for an 84MW thermal power plant, and they are expected to be shipped into the country shortly. This will add to the existing capacity for power generation in the state, through the 215MW plant in Kudenda and the 30MW from the Gurara dam, both owned by the Federal Government. We are in discussions with the Federal Government to concession these two power plants to our Kaduna Power Supply Company”
Emphasizing on the need for collaboration, Governor El Rufai noted that the situation in the power sector suggests that the private sector has to be the primary investor.
“The situation in the power sector suggests that while there are significant roles for the state and federal governments, the private sector has to be the largest source of investments, management and knowhow for sustainable and affordable electricity provision”
“If these structural bottlenecks are not addressed within a public policy perspective that gives primacy to serious private sector leadership in the sector, even the most determined Minister of Power can only engage in heroic, but largely futile, labour”
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