As part of efforts aimed at scaling-up renewable energy supply, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday commissioned the Volta River Authority’s 13MW Solar Power Project, which will serve over 32, 000 households in the Upper West Region.
He said the project, which is the first phase of what will, eventually, be a 28MW plant, is geared towards diversifying Ghana’s energy generation portfolio, and increasing its renewable energy generation mix.
Speaking during commissioning ceremony in Kaleo in the Upper West Region, the President said the Kaleo Solar Plant, along with ongoing interventions in the area of energy efficiency, was helping Ghana accelerate the attainment of her Nationally Determined Contributions, as presented at COP26 in Glasgow, in the United Kingdom.
Some of the other interventions are adoption of cleaner cooking solutions, decarbonisation of oil production, among others.
“The Akufo-Addo government has invested heavily in the electricity transmission network, which will enable us evacuate more renewable energy through the national grid, to support the extension of electricity to all parts of Ghana. For this reason, Kaleo has a dedicated transmission line that evacuates power from the current and future solar capacity at Kaleo to the GRIDCo substation at Wa,” he disclosed.
Serving households
He further explained that at the peak sun hours, the Kaleo and Lawra plants could meet the entire load at Wa and its environs.
“This can make Wa the greenest city in Ghana. The completion of the Kaleo Solar Power Plant is consistent with Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions to addressing the effects of climate change,” the President noted.
The President further recounted that since 1961, when the nation started commercial production of electricity, almost all the generation assets, with the exception of the Bui Hydro power plant, have been located in the middle and southern parts of Ghana.
To this end, he intimated, Government had taken it upon itself, “as part of our development trajectory, to bring some of these sources closer to the North, thereby opening up additional opportunities in our regional development journey”.
The Volta River Authority, he said, had been one of the country’s main vehicles for improving access to electricity and related developments, particularly in the northern parts of Ghana.
“It completed the first solar plant of 2.5 megawatts in Navrongo way back in 2013. Under this Government, we have successfully completed a 6.5 megawatts solar plant in Lawra, which I personally commissioned. Today, we are here signing-off on this thirteen-megawatt (13MW) addition,” he stated.
More solar plants
The President also disclosed the construction of another 15MW plant, which had already begun, noting that “funding has been duly secured from the German Development Bank (KFW), and is expected to be completed within one year”.
He said this is “in addition to the Kaleo Project providing several benefits, including, increasing the geographic spread of power generation assets, improving the resilience of the national power system, stabilising voltage levels and reliability of power supply in the Upper West Region.”
To reduce the nation’s carbon footprint, the President said, the construction of the new 15MW plant is employing some 130 people during the construction phase.
“I am glad to note that most of the workers used for some 95% of the construction and operational phase are from the nearby communities. The project will serve as a tourism boost for the Kaleo community, and as a destination for educational and technological field trips in the Region. It will contribute to promoting the advancement of science education, engineering and technological activities in this area, and broaden the career outlook of our young people,” he added.
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