Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, performed a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday to mark the start of construction of a 1,000-kilowatt (1 MW) solar power plant at the Dawhenya Irrigation Site in the Greater Accra Region.
The project, funded by the Korean Government with $5 million under the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Project (WEFP), and implemented by the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition (MoEn) in collaboration with the Korean Association of Machinery Industry (KOAMI), covers the cost of the solar plant, capacity building of staff, and site rehabilitation.
It is expected to provide a more reliable electricity supply to the facility, boosting irrigation and food production.
The actual construction is expected to begin early next year and be completed within an eight-month period. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Jinapor described the initiative as “a foundation for innovation, sustainability, and prosperity for generations to come,” stressing its role in addressing the twin challenges of energy transition and food security.
“Without clean, affordable, and reliable energy, irrigation systems cannot function; without water, we cannot grow food; and without food, our people cannot thrive,” he said.
The Minister said the plant would provide reliable power for irrigation, reduce dependence on costly diesel generators, and boost rice production and food security in Dawhenya and beyond.
It would also lower greenhouse gas emissions in line with Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and create green jobs for youth and women in agriculture and renewable energy. Mr. Jinapor observed that Ghana’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture remained a major setback.
While South Korea had irrigated over 800,000 hectares and partially irrigated 200,000 hectares of farmland as far back as 2009, Ghana irrigates only about three percent of its cultivated land, despite irrigation potential of between 360,000 and 1.9 million hectares.
He noted that food inflation had been a key driver of Ghana’s overall 23.8 percent consumer price inflation in 2024, citing rising costs of staples such as rice, yam, and tomato.
The Minister outlined the government’s target of bringing more than one million hectares under irrigation in the next five years, beginning with the deployment of 400 solar water pumps in 2026 and scaling up to 3,500 pumps by 2028 to irrigate about 400,000 hectares.
He assured that the Ministry was working with the Ministry of Finance to secure tax exemptions on imported materials and equipment for the plant and urged the Renewable Energy and Green Transition Directorate to ensure timely completion.
The Minister appealed to farmers and residents of Dawhenya to take ownership of the facility and safeguard it, adding that encroached irrigation lands must be reclaimed for their intended agricultural use.
A representative of the Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Kim Hyunjoo, said the project was more than just a source of clean energy, stressing its direct link to both Ghana’s “Feed Ghana” Programme and Korea’s “K-Rice Belt” initiative.
She commended the collaboration between Ghanaian institutions and Korean agencies, noting that their joint efforts were deepening bilateral relations.
Mr. Kyu Young Hwang, President and CEO of Kunhwa Engineering and Consulting Co. Ltd, said his company was proud to be part of the milestone initiative, describing it as both historic and transformative.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
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