France’s Ambassador for Climate Change, Stephane Gompertz told reporters in Abuja on Sunday said that the agreement was signed on Friday by the Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola and a French company, Vergnet and the project was the first of such magnitude to be signed in Nigeria.
According to Gompertz, “As far as new and renewable energy are concerned, the French Agency for Development helps finance through credits, projects in new and renewable energy.”
“Vergnet will build a solar plant of 13 megawatts, which is quite big for a solar plant. And as far as I am concerned, this is the first project of such magnitude to be signed here in Nigeria.”
“There will be other bigger projects going up to 50 or even 100 megawatts,” he said.
He explained that the agreement to build the solar power plant also included training component to encourage transfer of technology. According to him, the more we develop new technologies, the more people are trained to manage or to invent those technologies, and this will on the long run contribute to the development.
He noted that in 2009, the Federal Government had assigned Vergnet to establish a wind farm of 10 megawatts in Katsina state for more than 20 million Euros (about N4.5 billion).
The envoy said the farm, with 37 windmills, should start producing and be connected to the grid in the beginning of 2016.
According to him, the French group, TOTAL, is also willing to develop a solar energy project in Katsina state.
Credit: vanguardngr.com
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