By Chris Ochayi

ABUJA: The Federal Government disclosed last weekend that the 10 mega watt, MW, Katsina wind farm has attained 98 percent completion.  The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Amb. Godknows Igali, who said this in Abuja noted that the test running of the 37 turbines in the facility had since begun with five already successfully test-run. He also said the transmission line for the evacuation of the power to be produced is ready through the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, as confirmed by their officials.

Igali disclosed further that Government is committed to ensuring the smooth running of this pilot scheme, adding that it planned to replicate it in the entire Northern region, where wind velocity is high, stressing that the harnessing of wind resource is an integral part of the newly approved National Policy on Sustainable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

It would be recalled that the delay experienced in the completion of the Katsina wind power project was occasioned by the ugly incident of kidnapping of a French national, who was in-charge of the project and the  need to subsequently engage on French company to complete the project.

He explained that the wind farm was only one component of the renewable energy programme of the Federal Government, which  is being boosted with the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council of the first-ever National Policy on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

The Permanent Secretary identified other renewable energy projects to include small, medium, large hydros as well a solar power projects and bio-mass.

He also said that Government has put in place measures to check the menace of power infrastructure vandalism, and appealed to communities and new owners of power facilities to collaborate with Government by being vigilant in exposing the activities of vandals, hence they would be protecting their assets and also provide electricity to the people would make more profit from the project.