Wärtsilä has received a letter of award from Pan Africa Solar to build a 95.3MW solar project in Nigeria, which could power over a million homes in the country.
This project is the first utility scale project for Wärtsilä exclusively for on-grid application. The project is expected to create economic benefits for the local communities located in Katsina state in Northern Nigeria, where it can .
The technology used for the project will include photovoltaic modules with single axis trackers that optimize the energy yield produced by the plant. The power plant can help in stabilizing the country’s national grid.
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions president Javier Cavada said: “Our contract bid was successful because we were able to bring added value to the project in various areas, including local support and technical advisory services.
“Pan Africa Solar and Wärtsilä are currently finalising the EPC contract and in the meantime, this letter of award is a major milestone.”
This project is one of the 14 solar PV projects by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) that were signed last July by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), part of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Power.
These projects are expected to generate more than 1.2GW of energy, all of which will be transmitted to Nigeria’s national grid.
Recently, the company received a contract from Belize Electric Company Limited (BECOL) in Belize, Central America to enhance efficiency and performance of the Mollejon hydroelectric generating plant.
The hydroelectric plant generates about 25.2MW, with an annual production capacity of 125GWh.