Ondo State Government partnered with UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to generate 27 megawatts for industrial use, Mr Jossy Thomas, the UNIDO Programme Officer, said on Friday in Akure.
Thomas made the disclosure at a one-day workshop on Biomass Power Potential in Ondo State.
He said the project was to promote the use of locally available renewable resources to produce electricity.
He added that UNIDO’s feasibility study discovered that the project could be sited in any local government area where clusters of sawmills were located.
“We are targeting some local government areas where there are clusters of sawmills and we have found potential to generate 27 megawatts from enewable resources through saw dust, ” he said.
Chief Timehin Adelegbe, the state’s Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, said the biomass workshop was important for the state.
Represented by Mrs Tola Oyegbade, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry,
Adelegbe added that the aim of the workshop was to make use of biomass and sawdust to generate energy.
He noted that it would be of most benefit to industrialists in the state, considering the huge amount spent on fuel.
According to him, if the project becomes successful, it will reduce the cost of production in many industries and boost the economy of the state.
The commissioner urged participants to key into the project.
Prof. Eli Bala, the Director-General of Energy Commission of Nigeria and Chairman of the Project Steering Committee, said no sector could grow without sustainable energy supply.
Bala added that energy was essential for socio-economic development of any nation.
He said the project would meet energy needs through renewable biomass resources.
According to him, the move is part of the aims of the present administration to diversify the economy.
Bala said he was optimistic that the project would create jobs for teeming youths of the state when completed.
One of the participants, Mr Tewogboye Samuel, said the project would be of tremendous benefit to the state.
Samuel added that if the industrial sector in the state could be taken care of, other users of electricity would enjoy the little capacity being distributed.