A new 400kW small hydro scheme has been successfully commissioned in Nigeria's Taraba state, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has announced.
The project is a result of a joint venture between UNIDO, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the Taraba State Government, and the International Centre for Small Hydro Power Plant (ICSHP) in China. The first in a series of similar plants, the project will provide sustainable access to clean energy for industrial activities at Mambila Beverages (Nig) Ltd, as well as for productive uses of the adjoining villages, whose inhabitants are among the 30 million living without electricity in Nigeria.
"Sustainable access to power is a basic necessity for inclusive and sustainable industrial development in many countries, including Nigeria," said UNIDO Representative to Nigeria, Patrick Kormawa. "In collaboration with the ICSHP, the Energy Commission of Nigeria and other Federal Ministries, we affirm our effort to increase the proportion of energy from renewable sources in Nigeria, particularly from hydro-power."
Through this partnership, UNIDO has been able to strengthen South-South cooperation, as well as to build the technical capacity of local engineers in the country, particularly through civil works, construction and technology transfer in the assembling, installation and maintenance of small hydropower plants.
