NNPC planning a $300m ethanol plant in Nigeria

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) says plans are underway to set up a renewable energy plant that will use agri products to generate energy.

According to the NNPC renewable energy division general manager Rabiu Suleiman, the project, which would cost about $300 million dollars (€272,), would be financed through joint partnership with foreign partners.

The decision to diversify energy generation in Nigeria from existing sources to agricultural products was conceived by the Federal Government in 2005 but had been in the pipeline.

But now the incumbent administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has taken initiatives to begin the diversification programme.

The land allocated to the project will be used for the cultivation of sugarcane, cassava, and palm kernels for the extraction of ethanol.

”Apart from ethanol, which will be sourced from the agricultural products, we can also make fertilisers and animal feeds from their byproducts,” Rabiu told Financial Watch Nigeria.

The Nigerian government also identified seven other states for its renewable energy project but said the success of the Benue plant would determine the take-off of the other projects.

The NNPC is also exploring various other sources of fuel in the Chad Basin and the Benue trough.