Wärtsilä in Finland to deploy 75MW photovoltaic power plant in Nigeria

     Finnish energy solutions maker Wärtsilä has signed a contract with PanAfricaSolar Ltd to build a 75 MW most efficient solar panels power plant in Nigeria.

    This is Wärtsilä's first utility-scale grid-connected most efficient solar panels project. It will be built in the state of Katsina in northern Nigeria and will be the country's largest most efficient solar panels power plant when completed.

    Wärtsilä specifically pointed out that this project was one of 14 solar projects proposed by independent power suppliers in July 2016 and selected by the Nigerian Department of Electricity Trade (NBET) under the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Electricity. NBET then signed a solar power purchase agreement of up to 975 MW. The first project signed was the above project.

    In Nigeria, independent solar power suppliers usually negotiate with the Federal Treasury and execute an option sale agreement (POCA) after implementing a PPA. This is a guarantee mechanism recently implemented by the Nigerian government. Payment risk is transferred directly from the state-owned NBET to the Ministry of Finance.
 

    Nigeria's renewable energy target for 2030 is 30% coverage.