The Katsina State Executive Council has approved the procurement and installation of solar power and battery storage systems at 11 public facilities.

The decision was taken at the council’s meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Governor Dikko Radda.

According to the governor’s adviser on power and energy, Hafiz Ahmed, the equipment will support a solar programme with a combined capacity of about 20 megawatts. An assessment showed that the facilities account for 93.4 per cent of the state government’s electricity spending.

The facilities include Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University, Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, General Amadi Rimi Hospital, Turai Yar’Adua Maternity Hospital, the House of Assembly, the state High Court, three waterworks and a booster station. Officials project savings of about N7 billion from reduced spending on grid electricity and diesel generators, with the investment expected to be recovered in roughly three and a half years.

Ahmed said the state has already achieved more than 30MW of generation capacity and is targeting 70MW by 2031 under an Integrated Resource Plan developed with Power Africa. The council also approved a N10,000 monthly allowance for 2,500 young people.

Other approvals covered projects in education, healthcare and roads, including external works at model secondary schools, renovations at general hospitals, upgrading of a primary health centre, and the purchase of an asphalt paver and motorcycles for local government areas.

Photo credit: Punch News