Tag Archives: Power Plant

Sokoto successfully test runs Northern Nigeria’s first independent power project

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The Sokoto State Government has successfully conducted a test run of its N3.8 billion Independent Power Project, IPP, whose contract was awarded in November, 2008.

The project, the first of its kind in the northern part of the country, has an installed capacity of a minimum of 30 megawatts and a maximum of 38 megawatts.

The Chief Operating Officer of the contracting firm, Vulcan Elvaton Ltd, Franklin Ngbor, told journalists during the test run that the turbine of the project had already been tested three times.

He said: “What remains now is the synchronisation of the plant with the fuel tank and the main evacuation line, down to the transmission line.

“The plant when fully completed, finally fired and integrated into the national grid, can work for five consecutive years nonstop.

“It is only after it works for five years that it can be shut down for routine maintenance.”

The Director-General of the project, Umar Bande, stated that, the plant has a multiple type turbine that can use diesel, gas or LPFO.

According to Mr. Bande, the plant was now being test run on diesel, saying “it consumes 33,000 litres per day.”

He said plans are afoot to sign a fuel supply security agreement with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or other major oil firms.

This, he noted, was to make the fuel supply cheaper, more sustainable and ensuring maximum operations of the plant.

The Secretary to the State Government, Bashir Garba, said so far, nine stages, out of 11, required for a successful test run, have been carried out without hitches.

He said an agreement will soon be signed between the state government and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), on the evacuation of the power to the national grid.

Mr. Garba explained that the project was necessitated by the epileptic power supply to the state from the national grid.

He added: “The state will be enjoying nearly 24-hour power supply when the plant becomes fully operational.

“This is a project that is worth celebrating as power supply in Nigeria will be bolstered with the injection of 38 megawatts to the national grid.

“This will also eventually boost the socioeconomic landscape in the state, curb poverty, restiveness and unemployment, among other myriad of direct and indirect benefits.”

 

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ABU to enjoy uninterrupted power as university begins construction of 10mw solar plant

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Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education, on Monday performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a 10MW solar power plant estimated to cost N4 billion naira at Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria.

The project, located at Biye Village, Sabongari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, is expected to be completed in six months and is meant to address the energy needs of the university.

It was designed, initiated and financed by ABU in collaboration with Nigeria-German Energy Partnership with assistance from Tertiary Education Trust Fund.

During the foundation laying ceremony, the minister commended the university for its foresight and urged it to sustain the tempo.

Mr. Adamu was represented by Fatima Jidda-Ahmed, Director, Tertiary Institutions in the Federal Ministry of Education.

He expressed the hoped that the institution would take advantage of the partnership with Germany, not only in power generation, but in encouraging engineering students gain from the partnership.

In his speech, the German Deputy Ambassador to Nigeria, Regina Hess, said the partnership was based on the passion Germany had for university education in Nigeria.

She said universities would perform better if the education budget was used judiciously.

“With this project, our passion for Germany has become the passion for Nigerian government too,” she said.

Mrs. Hess promised to train engineers from the ABU to become experts in the field of solar energy.

Jeremy Gains, the Coordinator, Nigeria-German Energy Partnership, recalled that the project started in 2008 in Berlin when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and his wife visited Germany.

“Both Yar’Adua and his wife were alumni of the university. He met Chancellor Martha and she asked how Germany can help Nigeria.

“The late president said wisely in just three words and those three words were; power, power, power, adding that electricity is the key to development,” he said.

Mr. Gains said another alumni of ABU who also facilitated the project was the late Rilwanu Lukman, when he was both minister and Secretary-General of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“German company will come to Nigeria to create power stations while in return, Nigeria will guarantee energy security in the form of gas,” he noted.

Earlier, the ABU Vice-Chancellor, Ibrahim Garba, said ABU, the largest university, not only in Nigeria but in West Africa, had high demand for electricity.

He said the university spent about N85 million monthly on electricity, “that’s why we need our own power source to use and probably sell out to consumers out there.”

Mr. Garba said, all things being equal, the project, which initial cost stood at N4 billion naira would be completed in the next six months.

Minister Of Power Inaugurates Power Plant In Akwa Ibom.

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Against the backdrop of lack of electricity in some parts of the country, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has promised improved transmission across Nigeria.

He was speaking during the commissioning of a 330kva power transmission station in Akwa Ibom state.

The Minister said that the power plant would boost electricity supply and resolve the challenge of access to electricity in the country.
The 330kva station with 12 inter-connectivity lines to evacuate power from four major plants to the national grid is located in the heart of Essien Udim, Akwa Ibom state.

The Minister, after inspecting the facility, appealed for patience on the part of the host community while assuring them of improved electricity at affordable rates.

The Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Moses Ekpo, who lauded the project said that the event marked a turning point for industrialization and development in the state.

In the meantime, more private investments worth billions of Naira have taken off in the state.

Nigerians are hopeful of better power in the days ahead.

Shell Train Nigerian Youths On Power Plant Operations

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The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) operated Joint Venture (JV) has trained 15 engineering graduates from host communities of the Afam VI Power Plant at Oyigbo in Rivers State on the operation and maintenance of combined cycle power plants.

 

A statement from SPDC disclosed that the youths were the second set of 30 graduates from the host communities to benefit from the initiative, which incorporates training sessions in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

 

“We can confidently say that the trainees are the best set of engineers in the Nigeria electricity industry today,” said Afam Power Project Manager, Mr. Ben Agbajogu, during a ceremony in Port Harcourt to mark the end of the one-year training.

According to him, the trainees have been adequately equipped theoretically and practically on operating and maintaining modern power plants, and can compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world.”

 

The training included exposure of the graduates for 11 months at the Afam VI Power Plant, to operating and maintaining a combined cycle power plant and one-month specialised certificate training at the Osborne Training Services Newcastle, United Kingdom.

 

The member representing Oyigbo constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Chisom Dike, said the initiative had become a personal dream come true, as he recalled how SPDC accepted his proposal as a youth leader about 12 years ago to train over 100 youths in various skills.

Dangote To Build 500MW Power Plant

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Dangote Plc said, it has concluded preliminary arrangements to build a 500 mega watt (MW) of electricity into the national grid for the people of Kano.

In a statement over the weekend, the group executive director, Stakeholders Management and Corporate Communications, Engineer Mansur Ahmed made this disclosure at the Kano 36th International Trade Fair.

According to him, the new power plan, which is part of the philanthropic gesture of the company is meant to support government’s effort in the provision of electricity for the people in the region and when completed it would benefit Jigawa, Katsina and some parts of Kaduna.

He said the Dangote Foundation was scaling up its charity works across several African countries and has started deepening its philanthropic gestures in the areas of health and education.

He said in the North Eastern part of the country, the Foundation has also provided over a billion naira to support the Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) and is desirous of addressing the challenges of unemployment in the country.

Credit: Leadership