FirstGate clinches MOU for 1-GW solar park in Nigeria

A group of investors led by the FirstGate Group on Thursday sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government of Nigeria to build a 1-GW solar park there. The deal is part of a USD-4-billion (EUR 3.49bn) investment in the African country that will also involve the installation of a 1-GW gas-fired plant. Firstgate Business Intermediaries Ltd, part of the FirstGate Group, will partner with technical assistants from South Korea and Turkey. The consortium has already purchased 27,000 ha (67,000 acres) of land in the federal republic’s Kogi State. Construction of the solar and gas-fired power stations is expected […]

By Derick Lila February 16, 20150

A group of investors led by the FirstGate Group on Thursday sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government of Nigeria to build a 1-GW solar park there.

The deal is part of a USD-4-billion (EUR 3.49bn) investment in the African country that will also involve the installation of a 1-GW gas-fired plant.

Firstgate Business Intermediaries Ltd, part of the FirstGate Group, will partner with technical assistants from South Korea and Turkey.

The consortium has already purchased 27,000 ha (67,000 acres) of land in the federal republic’s Kogi State. Construction of the solar and gas-fired power stations is expected to take between four and five years. Building works are to be initiated within three months, Nigeria’s Minister of Power Chinedu Nebo said, as cited by local media.

Nigeria will support FirstGate and its partners during the licensing and permitting stages of the projects and will also help then sign power purchase agreements.

Derick Lila

Derick is a Clark University graduate—and Fulbright alumni with a Master's Degree in Environmental Science, and Policy. He has over a decade of solar industry research, marketing, and content strategy experience.