Phanes Group, a Dubai-headquartered solar energy developer and investment manager, has secured the development contract for 300 MW of new solar PV capacity in Nigeria.

The first project will entail a 100 MW solar farm in the country’s Sokoto region, with the first 50 MW phase of the plant penciled in for completion in the first quarter of 2018, and the entire plant scheduled to be online before the end of that year, reported PV Magazine.

An additional two 100 MW solar plants are mooted for 2019, located in the Mando area of Kadnuna, and Birnin-Kebbi in Kebbi. All regions selected boast some of the highest irradiation levels in Nigeria.

Phanes Group has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with some of the country’s utility-scale solar power developers, and for the 2019 farms will partner with local developers under the brand Hasken-Rana.

The Dubai developer has also opened a new Nigerian office that will oversee the development, management and operations of the three solar farms, while also serving Phanes’ broader West African solar interests.

On the win, Martin Haupts, the chief executive of Phanes Group, said: "Nigeria’s policy makers have worked proactively to address the nation’s immediate and long term electrification challenges through the introduction of attractive clean energy policies, and we are beginning to see the fruits of those policies."

"Despite its challenges, Nigeria’s potential for solar development is unquestionable and from a standing start it may soon emerge as solar leader among its sub-Saharan African peers," he added.