- In Nigeria, the 10MW Katsina wind farm project has been completed and will be commissioned later this month as confirmed by the Ministry of Power in the Federal Government.
This was disclosed by Bashir Ahmad, the personal assistant on new media to President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement on Monday: “The 10MW Wind Farm Project in Katsina has been completed by President Buhari Administration and will be commissioned later this month by the Ministry of Power.”
Eng. Saleh Mamman, the minister of power in the Federal Government, confirmed that the wind project, which is set for commissioning, has 37 functioning turbines and part of the FG’s efforts towards investing in renewable energy.
Eng Mamman added on Twitter: “The Administration of President Buhari is committed to the completion of abandoned infrastructure projects…”
The project, which is located in Lamber Rimi area of Katsina State, was originally awarded in 2009.
Katsina Wind Farm deliverables
The project originally began in 2005 when the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua was governor of the state before it was taken over by the Federal Government in 2007.
At its current stage of commissioning, the power plant will require step-up transformers for each turbine 315KVA/33KV/400V, SCADA system (for data collection, performance monitoring, control and supervision), installation of 2× 7.5MWA transformer and accessories as well as two years operation and maintenance spare parts.
According to the ECOWAS observatory for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, the Katsina Wind Farm would consist of 37 GEV MP 275kW, in northern Nigeria.
This wold be the first wind farm in the region and carried out by VERGNET and the Federal Ministry of Power (FMP). The Federal Ministry of Energy of Nigeria had selected the company for the “robustness of its machines and their easy installation and maintenance that need less important logistics than traditional wind turbines”.
The installation of wind turbines would be carried out by VERGNET who would train technicians to help the FMP as part of the maintenance element. This partnership could lead to the construction of wind farms in other states of Nigeria
Author: Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl
This article was originally published on ESI Africa and is republished with permission with minor editorial changes.
