New catalyst for Ghana's solar passions

• The federal government has actually revealed 17 MW of utility range solar is incomplete as well as the Ministry of Energy is looking for specialists to aid advertise mini-grids and also solar internet metering.

Ghana's biggest power vendor, the Volta River Authority (VRA), has actually started constructing 2 PV nuclear power plant with an overall generation ability of 17 MW in the Upper West Region of the nation. The job comes 2 years after the VRA safeguarded funds for the centers from Germany's government-owned advancement financial institution KfW.

The plants are being constructed in the communities of Lawra as well as Kaleo as well as brag intended capabilities of 4 MW as well as 13 MW, specifically. The Lawra system is arranged for conclusion by July and also the project in Kaleo need to be settled this year, according to Ghanaian head of state Nana Akufo-Addo.

Ghana's Ministry of Energy stated the purchase, design as well as building and construction solutions specialist is Spanish firm Elecnor as well as the project specialist is Belgium's Tractebel Engineering.

The projects needed financing of EUR22.8 million as well as belong to stage among the VRA's renewable resource advancement program, which the firm released in 2010. The strategy imagines implementation of the 17 MW of solar capability along with 150 MW of wind power centers and also expediency research studies for brand-new small-hydro plants. The VRA additionally runs coal-fired power plant.

Expert phone call

The Ministry of Energy is asking for professionals to aid the federal government execute Ghana's scaling-up renewable resource program.

The specialists will certainly specify, to name a few points, a program to sustain the growth of mini-grids, off-grid solar centers and also a nationwide web metering system for PV.

Under its power technique, Ghana desires 2.5 GW of renewable resource generation ability-- probably consisting of hydroelectric-- by 2030.

The country had simply 64 MW of solar ability at the end of 2018, according to International Renewable Energy Agency stats. The majority of that is stood for by 2 20 MW solar parks. One, appointed in September 2018, remains in Gomoa Onyaadze, near Winneba in the Central Region of southerly Ghana. The 2nd project was appointed in April 2016 by Chinese innovation service Beijing Xiaocheng Company, a subsidiary of Beijing Fuxing Xiao-Cheng Electronic.