Renewable energy solutions providers Greenwish Partners and Oriental Renewable Solutions are partnering to deliver a 50 MW solar PV project in Jigawa State. The project is said to form part of a wider plan to diversify Nigeria’s energy mix.
The Jigawa Solar project will, upon completion, have the capacity to generate 96 GWh per year. It is also expected to create 300 jobs during its construction and 25 permanent jobs when it becomes fully functional.
Charlotte Aubin-Kalaijidijan, President of GreenWish Partners, said that the Jigawa power plant represented “a first concrete step towards the extension and diversification of the energy mix for a sustainable electrification of Nigeria”. She added that it would give remote communities access to electricity and boost economic activity in the area.
Oriental had in 2016 signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), which supervises energy related matters on behalf of the Nigerian government. The agreement was one of several signed by NBET with a number of project developers; the wider set of deals is expected to yield up to 1, 200 MW of electricity for Nigeria.
Nigeria has struggled to solve a nagging problem of inadequate electricity supply. Much of the power it generates comes from gas, but repeated disruptions to gas supply and a growing demand for electricity have caused significant power outages and grid collapses in recent times. Experts have advocated for a more diverse energy mix, and the government says it is now moving to achieve this.