Ghana’s largest state power generation company, Volta River Authority (VRA), will, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, commission a 13MW peak solar plant in Kaleo in the Upper West Region to boost electricity generation in the West African nation.
This will add to the company’s 6.5MW peak at Lawra, 2.5MW solar in Navrongo in Upper East Region and 80kW rooftop solar at its headquarters in Accra.
President Akufo-Addo, who is touring the Upper West Region, will commission the project as part of his tour of the region.
In 2020, VRA commissioned a 6.5MW peak solar power plant in Lawra in the Upper West Region.
Both the Lawra and Kaleo projects were executed by Elecnor S.A. from Spain, with Tractebel Engineering of Germany acting as the Project Consultant.
The projects were funded by KfW, a German Development Bank, through a Loan Agreement between the Government of Germany, represented by KfW, and the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Finance and the VRA for a facility of 22.8 million Euros.
The projects would boost VRA’s power generation capacity, reduce VRA’s carbon footprint by increasing non-fossil fuel generation and also stabilise the voltage levels and power supply in the Upper West Region, as well as provide additional power for the consumption of 32,200 households (estimated annual average consumption per household of 976kWh).
VRA has set a goal to command, at least, 70 per cent of the renewable space in Ghana in line with its 5-10-year Renewable Energy Development Programme.
The move is in line with the Government of Ghana’s policy to promote the development and utilisation of Renewable Energy (RE).
“In 2019, the Authority completed its first 80kw rooftop solar at its headquarters in Accra, as part of its culture of working in green and smart environment.
“In future, the VRA intends to develop a pilot floating solar project on the Kpong Hydro-electric head pond at Akuse and deploy rooftop solar system in our office and residential facilities at Akosombo, Akuse and Aboadze,” Ing Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, CEO of VRA, said as captured in the company’s 2019 Sustainability Report.
The VRA is, also, venturing into wind power production and looks forward to developing about 150MW wind power projects to be located in Anloga and West Ada Districts of the Volta and Greater Accra Regions respectively, in the short to medium term.
The 2019 Sustainability Report said feasibility studies and the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Studies had been concluded for the first 76MW Wind Power Project at Anloga, Srogbe and Anyanui in the Volta Region, as well as the second 76.5MW project in Wokumagbe and Goi in the Greater Accra Region.
