Buhari unveils $16m Kano solar power project

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday, inaugurated the 10-megawatt Kano Solar Power Project funded by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority with the sum of $16m.

A statement issued by the NSIA stated that Buhari expressed satisfaction with the quality of the job done with the installation of the solar power plants.

He was accompanied on the inauguration by the Governor of Kano State, Umar Ganduje; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Zainab Ahmed; Chairman of NSIA Board of Directors, Farouk Gumel; Managing Director, NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, among others.

The statement stated that the NSIA was appointed by the President as funds and project manager with a specific mandate to conceptualise, develop, construct, and operationalise a 10MW solar project on a 24 hectare parcel of land in Kumbotso Local Government, Kano State.

It stated that Haske Solar Company Limited, the project vehicle whose name means light in the Hausa language, was jointly owned by the Federal Government, Kano State Government, and the host Local Government – Kumbotso.

“The project is currently the largest grid-connected solar PV plant and is a proof of successful mid-sized solar PV deployment in Nigeria,” the NSIA stated.

It said the project would catalyse growth in the power sector as it showed that renewable projects of this magnitude could be successfully delivered.

“The project also builds Nigeria’s credentials in the fight against climate change and our commitment to attaining net zero carbon emissions by 2060,” the agency stated.

Speaking at the event, Umar-Sadiq said the 10MW Kano Solar Project offered significant socio-economic and environmental impacts, as it would provide access to clean, affordable, and sustainable energy to local industries and other consumers.

He said the project had provided about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs to the immediate community, adding that the plant had more than 21,000 solar PV panels, two 6MVA transformers and 52 inverters, a warehouse and storage building, control room, office and workshop, among others.