Motir DuSable Power Investment Limited, a US based renewable energy power firm has injected US$200m for the Nigeria’s Enugu State solar project, projected to generate 300MW of power.
The project will be developed in two phases, whereby the first phase of the project will deliver 100MW of power. The generating capacity is expected to go up by 200MW of power in the second phase. The project generated power will be added into the national grid to contribute in meeting the nation’s energy demand.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Motir DuSable Power Investment Limited and the Federal Government of Nigeria to develop the project in Enugu State with the aim of transforming the state into the hub for renewable energy generation in Sub-Sahara Africa. Motir DuSable Power Investment Limited is a joint venture of two US based power firms.
During a performance review retreat of the Enugu State Executive Council holding held early this month, Emmanuel Irono, Motir DuSable Power Investment Limited Chairman, presented the company’s planned take-off of the project at Nike Lake hotel. Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was also in attendance.
Irono expressed his gratitude for the meeting and company’s presentation turning out positive. He further elaborated on the project cost that the first phase will cost US$200m while the second phase will attract a similar amount of US$200m.
The project is expected to create room for more innovations as well as employment opportunities to Enugu State and to all Nigerians.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) statistics, Nigerian primary energy supply was 118,325 Kilotonne of Oil Equivalent (ktoe) excluding electricity trade in 2011. Presently, biomass is the dominant energy source in Nigeria due to the huge reliance on the energy source used for cooking and heating purposes by majority of the citizens.
Despite being one of the best continents for solar irradiation and the suns power exceeds, energy in Africa is high on demand as more than half of the continent’s population lives “off the grid” with no access to “plug in” electrical power. Moreover, the average annual Africa energy consumption per capita is over 500 kWh, mainly used in business, industry & government.
