INTERVIEW: Kano Solar Power Project Will Enhance Production Efficiency, Reduce Costs For Industries—NSIA Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq

In this interview with IFEANYI ONUBA held shortly after the commissioning of the Kano Solar Power Project by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr Aminu Umar-Sadiq spoke on what led to the conceptualisation of the project and how it will boost production efficiency and reduce costs for businesses operating within the industrial clusters in Chalawa, Kano State. Excerpts…

Can we have a brief background on this Kano Solar Power Project and what is it meant to achieve?

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) was appointed by the President of The Federal Republic of Nigeria as funds and project manager with a specific mandate to conceptualize, develop, construct, and operationalize a 10MW solar project on a 24 Hectare parcel of land in Kumbotso Local Government, Kano State.

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

This project is currently the largest grid-connected solar PV plant and is proof of successful mid-sized solar PV deployment in Nigeria.

Kano is a commercial centre, what is the project meant to achieve and how will it benefit the people of Kano State particularly those businesses operating within the industrial clusters where it is located?

This will catalyze growth in the power sector as it shows that renewable projects of this magnitude can be successfully delivered. It also builds Nigeria’s credentials in the fight against climate change and our commitment to attaining net zero carbon emissions by 2060.

The 10MW Kano Solar Project offers significant socio-economic and environmental impacts. In addition to providing access to clean, affordable, and sustainable energy to local industries and other consumers. This will only increase industrial output by ensuring companies reach full capacity utilization. The project has provided about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs to the immediate community.

The plant has more than 21,000 solar PV panels, two 6MVA transformers and 52 inverters, a state-of-the-art warehouse and storage building, a control room building, office and workshop building amongst others, and was built by a consortium of Eauxwell Nigeria Limited, an indigenous local contractor, and their international partners – Greencells Energy Middle East and Africa Limited – on a turnkey basis.

Being a first-of-its-kind project, the procurement of the EPC and O&M contractors was structured in a manner that forged local and foreign partnerships. The underlying thesis is to ensure local participation; local creation and value retention; and knowledge (technical) transfer.

The project also showed a strong commitment to improving the welfare of people in the community by providing multiple community boreholes to ensure access to clean water supply, renovating classroom blocks to ensure students have a conducive environment to learn and constructing a 2.07km access road to improve ease of movement in the community

This project will truly be transformative to the Challawa Industrial Area which is the industrial area within Kano metropolis. We have heard extensive discussions in the course of developing this project and what was clear from speaking to the factories, the manufacturing plants and the facilities in that industrial cluster is it will enhance production efficiency, reduce production costs and in time begin to attract foreign direct investments into that cluster by essentially being the best place within this area cost wise to do business

How much is the investment in terms of monetary value?

The investment is about $16m but NSIA did a couple of things to ensure that the money went further that what it ought to be. Number 1 is that the procurement process was detailed, we focused on technical and money. So,through the procurement process, we managed to reduce the cost of this proposition. Number 2 is that we focused on ensuring we got the best Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractor that were able to be inventive and creative despite the constraints if executing such a project in Kano. And finally, through our Treasury Activities, the funds that were given to us, we found ways to enhance it to increase the returns on those funds that we also used in the cost of developing this project.

How long has this project taken from conception to completion?

This has taken about two and the half years bearing in mind that it was in the context of covid-19, it was in the context of the supply chain constraints that the world face in panel production, and importantly panel transportation from where there were procured to Nigeria.

Is this project sustainable, how long do we expect the people of Kano to enjoy it?

This project, we are confident will not only be sustained but by the grace of God through a platform that we are currently working with, the International Finance Corporation will be proliferated across the country where solar installation levels are high.

So, we are not only looking to ensure that this is sustained, we are actually looking to take this model and when I say this model, we spent the last two and half years looking at the optimal capitalization structure, we have looked at the optimal maintenance structure, we looked at the optimal power evacuation structure. We now have what is a demonstration project here that we can take and through a platform, make available across other jurisdictions in Nigeria

You spoke about taking it to another regions, how soon will that happen?

As soon as possible. I don’t want to put any timeline because it is not an NSIA venture, it is a partnership with the International Finance Corporation and so the timeline has to be in the context of discussions with them.

In this situation, will NSIA be in charge of the management of this place or will NSIA hand it over to another company to manage?

No, there is going to be a contractor to operate and maintain it. It is important that it is handed over to those who have the technical competence and the experience in operating such projects.

Who are the target beneficiaries of this 10 megawatts solar power project?

It is the citizenry of Kano, it is the businesses in Kano, it is the factories and manufacturing facilities within Kano that will benefit from this project. So, this is for the citizens of Kano not the government agencies that funded and executed it

Can we say it functional and can it be put to use now?

Of course it is functional. It will be put to use to the extent that negotiation are concluded but it is functional, it is generating power.

What are the negotiations we are expecting?

Of course tariffs has to be discussed and negotiated with the factories that are going to be benefited from it. Today is the commissioning day, it has not operated until after today .