President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, on Monday, commissioned the Volta River Authority’s Kpong Generating Station Retrofit Project.
Energynewsafrica.com brings to its readers exclusive photos captured by our cameras.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s only refinery, Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), has inaugurated the newly appointed executives of the Professional and Managerial Staff Union (PMSU) of the refinery.
The PMSU, which is under the General Transport Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, now has Anthony Koomson as the chairman, Albert Sangmortey as 1st Vice, Pearl Addae as 2nd Vice, Djabanor Richard-Lemah as Secretary, James Abanga as Assistant Secretary, Francis Dzivenu as 1st Trustee and Richard Baron Awuleshie as 2nd Trustee.
The new executives are expected to steer the affairs of the union for the next four years.
Speaking at the inauguration of the newly appointed executives of PMSU, Bernard Owusu, National chairman of the GTPCWU, noted that the refinery was facing a number of challenges including getting inadequate crude to refine.
Mr Owusu explained that currently, TOR had an arrangement to do a third party refining which, he noted, did not allow the refinery to derive 100 percent profit from its activities.
He added that when TOR refined its own crude oil and at its full capacity, it provided Ghanaians with cheaper petroleum products compared to what was happening currently with the third party arrangement.
He urged the refinery’s staff not to be downhearted because of the challenges but should rather continue to work hand-in-hand with management to ensure that TOR bounced back to its original mandate.
Samuel Boateng, First National Vice Chairman of GTPCWU, also reiterated the need for the government to support the management of TOR to get its own crude oil to refine, indicating that the on and off shutting down of the refinery frequently was not helping its operations.
Mr Boateng noted that the benchmark for every refinery was to operate continuously for two years then shut down for major maintenance, stating that “but what TOR has been seeing is that you operate for about four months, you shut down and start again,” and this, according to him, was greatly affecting TOR.
“We want the government to support the management of TOR. TOR is viable and profitable. We have used our internally generated fund to pay off RFCC plan from 2000 to 2008 which was over $200 million dollars. We, therefore, need continuous supply of crude so we can run.”
Emmanuel Addo-Kumi, outgoing Chairman of TOR Professional and Managerial Staff Union (PMSU) of GTPCWU, giving a brief history of the Union, said in 2016, some of its members who were promoted to senior staff category decided to remain in the GTPCWU.
Mr Addo-Kumi, also the Chairman for GTPCWU, Accra zone, added that follow-up letters were sent to the relevant authorities on the issue, leading to their first-ever union dues being deducted from January 2017 to the GTPCWU, adding that even though they faced a lot of challenges and name-calling from other colleagues, they stood their grounds and the union survived.
Anthony Jojo Koomson, current chairman of the TOR’s PMSU of GTPCWU, in an acceptance speech, promised to have further deliberations on deductions of some statutory payments from staff’s salaries.
Mr Koomson said “it is time to stop deducting statutory payments meant to secure and promote the workers’ well-being and not paying to the requisite institutions for the present and future benefits of the worker.”
Herbert Ato Morrison, Deputy Managing Director of TOR, said management would always collaborate with the union for the good of the refinery, stressing that union leaders should not misrepresent them to workers.
Mr Morrison also called for unity among the workers and cautioned them against using their positions to undermine other workers as a way of scoring points.
There were fraternal messages from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana, TOR Divisional Union of GTPCWU Junior Staff, TOR Ladies’ Association, and the Tema District Council of Labour.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The government has cleared the GH¢2.6 billion arrears owed the Volta River Authority (VRA) by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) since 2016.
In addition, it has a credit balance of GH¢500 million in respect of MDA bills.
The Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, said this in Accra on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, when he launched the 60th anniversary of the country’s largest and oldest power generator.
The celebration, which is on the theme: “Celebrating 60 years in the power business”, will be climaxed on April 26, next year.
At the launch of the Diamond Jubilee of the VRA were high-profile personalities, including traditional rulers and old and present management staff of the company.
Dumsor
Mr. Osafo-Maafo said the power outages (dumsor) of the past brought in their wake panic reactions from the then government, which went into signing all sorts of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with independent power producers (IPPs), adding that “this resulted in installed capacity of 5,083 megawatts (MW) of generation, according to the Energy Commission when Ghana’s peak demand for electricity was about 2,700MW”.
“Of the total installed capacity, 2,300MW has been contracted on a take-or-pay basis. The net effect is that the government has had to pay over $500 million annually for power generation capacity it does not need,” he said and expressed the hope that the VRA, with its rich experience, would explore the export market to reduce the burden of over-capacity on the government.
Assumption
On assumption of power, he said, the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo established the Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) to bring the energy sector into balance by the end of 2023, saying that under his chairmanship, the ministerial taskforce supervising the ESRP had chalked up several successes, including the establishment of the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) which ensured weekly sharing of tariff revenues among players in the electricity value chain, thereby improving liquidity in the sector.
The Senior Minister indicated that the CWM, which had been hailed by the sector players, would be extended to cover gas sector revenues with the establishment of the Natural Gas Clearing House (NGCH).
Resilience
Over the past few decades, he said, the VRA had demonstrated the strength of its resilience in operation and engineering practice, while complying with best industry practices.
That, Mr Osafo-Maafo said, had created value for the Ghanaian economy, especially for industry and local communities.
“I take cognisance of the fact that today’s launch of the VRA’s 60th anniversary does not simply characterise the beginning of the celebration alone but affords the management and staff the opportunity to re-evaluate their journey, looking back to their past, a well-defined present and a hopeful future with prospects,” he said.
He said the VRA had undoubtedly been the first in a number of key milestones in the power sector and had sustained the export of power to the neighbouring countries of Togo, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso for almost 50 years.
“This has made Ghana a dominant player in the power market in the ECOWAS region. I wish to congratulate you on your good works,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the VRA, Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, said as the authority looked to the future, it was clear that the electricity business would be significantly different.
“Digitisation will be the major enabler of the business, so we are preparing ourselves for the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT). We recognise that digitisation will compel us to drive our costs and, therefore, remain competitive. So we will fully embrace it,” the CEO, who is an engineer, said.
A former CEO and current Board Chairman of the VRA, Mr Kweku Andoh Awotwi, said the authority had chalked up a number of successes over the past years of its existence.
He said the theme for the anniversary referred to the past and the future operations of the authority.
The Minister of Energy, Mr John-Peter Amewu, in a speech read on his behalf, commended the management and staff of the VRA for holding the authority’s brand in high esteem, without drifting away from its vision.
He said the authority had been successful in its activities and deserved to be commended.
Activities
Some of the activities planned to mark the anniversary are an anniversary durbar, free medical screening for communities in which it operates in, the donation of assorted items to schools and health facilities, a choral music concert, feting the vulnerable, sponsorship of 60 needy youth, voluntary activities, an awards night and ball, as well as a thanksgiving service to climax the anniversary.
Source:graphic.com.gh
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, John-Peter Amewu say that his Ministry, in consultation with the Energy Commission, has directed the country’s Southern Electricity Distribution Company, ECG, to initiate competitive procurement process for a total of 100 MW solar plant capacity.
The initiative, he stressed would be from IPPs within the next five years in line with the Renewable Energy Master Plan of the West African nation.
He said this when he delivered the keynote speech at the 6th Ghana Renewable Energy Fair themed: ‘Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient in Achieving Ghana’s Industrialization Agenda’ in Accra on Tuesday, 2020.
“Mr. Chairman, I am happy to inform you that the Renewable Energy Act 2011 has been amended to provide the legal backing for the above actions. The Amendment Bill is currently before Cabinet for consideration and approval by Parliament. The Bill also encourages small-scale self-generation and net-metering from renewables,” stated Mr. Amewu.
According to him, the Amended Bill mandates fossil fuel-based wholesale electricity suppliers, fossil fuel producers and other companies that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions to complement the global effort of climate change mitigation by investing in non-utility scale renewable energy technologies, particularly for off-grid electrification.
“I trust that Parliament will approve the bill before going on recess. The government is implementing the rural electrification scheme to make electricity available and affordable to stimulate economic activities in all rural communities in the country,” he explained.
Ghana’s Energy Minister was of the view that the strategy is to achieve this through grid extension. However, for island and lake-side communities where grid electricity cannot be extended in the immediate future, the strategy is to deploy decentralised mini-grid systems.
By this strategy, Mr. Amewu explained that the mini-grid electrification is now an integral part of the rural electrification scheme and would be public sector-led investments where the assets and infrastructures are handled in the same manner as grid extension.
In that regard, he pointed out that the government would engage the private sector to undertake the supply and installation of mini-grid systems and then hand them over to a public utility entity to manage and operate just like what pertains under rural electrification through grid extension.
“The mini-grid consumers will pay the same electricity tariff as prescribed by PURC for the public distribution entities (ECG and NEDCO) for life-line, residential and non-residential consumer classification. The existing mini-grid systems installed by the Ministry for five island communities on the Volta Lake have been handed over to the VRA to own, manage and operate,” he announced.
Ghana’s Energy Minister further said procurement process is also underway for the award of contract to install and connect approximately 4000 households in these districts.
“Early this month, I broke ground for the construction of the mini-grids systems for three of these communities located in the Ada East District.
Even though COVID-19 pandemic has adversely delayed the implementation of the various mini-grids across the country, I wish to assure you of the NPP government’s commitment to commence and complete all these projects. This is why we need your votes for four more years for Nana to do more.
In order to diversify our national energy portfolio, we recently completed Ghana’s first micro-hydropower plant to be known as the Tsatsadu Generating Station (TGS) under the Ministry of Energy’s renewable energy initiative with support from Energy Commission, UNDP and Bui Power Authority. This Plant, which will soon be commissioned by H.E the President, has a capacity of 45kW with the possibility of adding another 45kW capacity turbine in the future. It is interesting to note that this power plant was wholly constructed by Ghanaian engineers.”
Touching on the Pwalugu Multi-purpose power plant, he said it comprises of a 60MW hydro power hybridised with a 50MW solar plant by the VRA, has also commenced.
This year, Mr Amewu stated that VRA also added 6.54 MW solar PV power at Lawra in the Upper West Region to our energy mix.
He said installation works for additional 62MW solar plant comprising of 13MW in Kaleo by VRA in the Upper West Region and 50MW in Bui by BPA in the Bono Region are at various stages of completion.
Touching on the theme, Board Chairman of Energy Commission, Prof George Hagan said, “It gives us a great opportunity to discuss a bottom-up national strategy for industrialisation based on the sustainable development and utilisation of Ghana’s renewable energy resources. And it invites us to be creative, innovative and quick and confident to identify and use our local potential.”
To explore the theme, Prof. Hagan said “we have invited experienced policy makers and leaders of technological innovations and industries to lead us in our discussions over the two days of the Fair.”
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Oil major BP on Tuesday reported a small profit for the third quarter of 2020 compared to a huge loss in the previous quarter.
According to its report on Tuesday, BP’s underlying replacement cost profit for the third quarter was $86 million, compared with a loss of $6.7 billion for the second quarter of 2020 and $2.3 billion profit for the third quarter of 2019.
BP said that, compared to the previous quarter, the result benefitted from the absence of significant exploration write-offs and recovering oil and gas prices and demand.
This was partly offset by a significantly lower oil trading result.
BP’s reported loss for the quarter was $0.5 billion, compared with losses of $16.8 billion for the previous quarter of 2020, reflecting the absence of significant exploration write-offs and impairment charges, and $0.7 billion for the third quarter of 2019.
Organic capital expenditure in the first three quarters of 2020 was $9.1 billion, in line with the full-year target of around $12 billion.
BP continues to make progress towards its target of $2.5 billion in annual cash cost savings by end-2021 compared with 2019, with its new organization on schedule to be in place by the start of 2021.
Net debt at quarter-end was $40.4 billion, down $0.5 billion.
BP’s headcount has reduced by a total of around 2,800 so far during 2020, including around 300 who have already left the organization as part of the reinvent bp programme.
A further 2,100 have elected to leave under the programme, which is expected to result in a total reduction of around 10,000 positions, the majority by the end of this year.
BP expects to incur people-related costs associated with the reinvent programme, including redundancy payments, of around $1.4 billion over the next 1-2 years, primarily in 2020.
The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to create a volatile and challenging trading environment.
There have been some early signs of global economic recovery as countries move to more regional or localised restrictions on movement and governments continue to offer monetary and fiscal policy stimulus.
However, BP noted that the shape and pace of the recovery is uncertain, as it depends on the further spread of the pandemic.
The gradual recovery in oil demand seen since the spring looks set to continue, led by strengthening demand in Asia. The IEA estimates an increase of around six million barrels a day in 2021, as economies continue to open up.
OPEC+ production cuts have played a major role in stabilising the market and there is already a reduction in crude and product inventories. Inventories are likely to reduce through 2021, although the pace at which they normalise will depend on the strength of the economic recovery and the degree of continued OPEC+ compliance, BP said.
US gas supply is expected to continue on a declining trend in 2021, largely due to a drop in associated gas production. Tightening gas balances have caused the prompt price to rise, and the futures curve for Henry Hub now averages above $3 for 2021. This would be expected to provide some support to pricing in Europe and Asia until more gas comes to market.
The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Energy, will be distributing 500,000 improved charcoal cooking stoves to households across the West African nation.
The improved charcoal cooking stoves project is aimed at mitigating the impact of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
The project is funded through a grant of US$5.5 million provided by the East-West Power Corporation, the Climate Change Center (CCC) and the Government of South Korea.
Speaking at the launching of the improved at Akuse in the Eastern Region alongside the commissioning of Kpong Generating Station Retrofit Project, Mr. Amewu said the project is in exchange of Certified Emission Reduction (CER), assuring that the distribution of the cook stoves would follow the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC).
President Akufo-Addo(in yellow African print) inspecting a sample of the Improved Cook Stoves
According to Mr Amewu, his Ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, has put in place the required frameworks to ensure proper accountability of the project.
“This is the first phase and the success of Ghana’s business model will not only be a blue print for other member states in the sub-region to emulate, but also lead to the implementation of a second phase of another 500,000 stoves,” he said.
Mr Amewu charged the District Assemblies and the beneficiary households to comply with the distribution mechanism and requirements to ensure the success of the project.
H.E Kim Sungsoo, Korean Ambassador to Ghana
On his part, the Korean Ambassador to Ghana, H.E Kim Sungsoo said, “We believe that this project will improve the health of beneficiaries as the biomass combustion in the household will decrease. Secondly, the initiative would help to reduce deforestation in Ghana and provide jobs for Ghanaians.”
He noted that climate change is real and its impact has resulted in major losses in infrastructure, animals and even human lives. “Therefore, we must all help in dealing with the issue of climate change since it does not consider any boundaries; it affects everyone regardless of race, gender, age and country,” he said.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has cautioned motorists not to engage in panic buying of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, assuring of normalcy in the supply of petroleum products.
Kennie Obateru, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, who gave the caution in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday said the long queues currently being experienced were due to the curfew imposed in some states over the EndSARS protests.
Mr Obateru said that the curfew affected the free movement of vehicles for the supply of products, but assured of normalcy in a couple of days.
“The disruptions and curtailment of free flow of vehicular movement occasioned by the EndSARS protests, the attendant curfews, restrictions and vandalism affect the supply situation.
“Normalcy is expected to return to the petroleum products supply chain in the next couple of days.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s largest state generation company, Volta River Authority (VRA), has commissioned its new retrofitted Kpong Power Generating Station at Akuse, in the Eastern part of the West African nation.
The Kpone Generating Station was first commissioned in 1982 with an installed capacity of 160MW.
The station operated reliably until the early part of 2000, when the power generating components started experiencing higher than normal failures and forced outages.
In addition, spare parts for repair works were very difficult to procure as most of the plant equipment became obsolete.
The Government of Ghana, therefore, secured a loan facility of €50 million from Agence Française de Développement (AFD) for VRA to finance the Kpong Generating Retrofit Project.
Speaking at the commissioning of the project on Monday, October 26, 2020, Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo said the project would guarantee the efficiency, sustainability and reliability of the country’s power generating plants.
The completion of the retrofit, according to President Akufo-Addo, “restores this power station into as new condition, and guarantees the country 30 more years of operation.”
The ceremony was witnessed by traditional rulers, District Chief Executives, officials from the Ministry of Energy, and CEO of some state power companies.
The President said: “The completion of this project is further proof, if any were needed, of the expertise of Ghanaian engineers and technicians in their ability to administer new technologies for the effective management of our power plants. It is particularly gratifying that, in spite of the disruptions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the contractor, VRA and the consultants were able to complete this project within a reasonable time frame.”
President Akufo-Addo added that the government would continue with its efforts to support the energy sector so it could address all the challenges it faces, particularly, the considerable financial burden on the sector posed by the excess power capacity, contracted by the Mahama-government, and reiterated the commitment of his government to making Ghana a net exporter of electricity in West Africa.
He, therefore, charged the VRA, which has been in the export trade for some fifty years, to ensure that it expands the frontiers of its current operations to countries like Mali, who requires additional electricity supply, to meet its development needs.
“Not only will this allow us to meet our objectives, but it will also underline the spirit of co-operation which is the foundation of ECOWAS, of which I am, currently, its Chairman,” the President added.
He stressed that the government would continue to support renewable energy development such as hydro, solar and wind, with the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam and Lawra and Kaleo Solar Power Plants buttressing the point.
“I encourage the Volta River Authority to explore the development of a hydro site on the Oti River, and collaborate with the Ministry of Energy on the other hydro sites on the Pra, Ankobra and Tano Rivers, in order to reduce our national carbon footprint in the electricity sector,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo thanked the French Government and the European Union for the support offered for the realisation of this project.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Africa Oil & Power, the leading investment promotion platform for the African energy sector, has launched a report called ‘Angola COVID-19 Response,’ analyzing the country’s strategy to mitigate the impact of the global pandemic on its energy sector, with a particular focus on its oil and gas upstream sector, which constitutes a fundamental part of Angola’s economic lifeblood.
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“Mitigating the natural decline of production represents one of the largest challenges of the sector and therefore, it is our top priority,” H.E. Diamantino Azevedo, Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas of Angola states in the report.
He describes the Ministry’s upstream strategy as being sustained on four pillars; easing access to new promising acreage, improving geological information and access to it, successfully deploying the General Concession Award Strategy and intensifying exploration activity.
These efforts are being combined with the revision of the country’s marginal fields potential together with a strong drive to develop downstream projects.
H.E. Paulino Jerónimo, President of ANPG, complements these comments by highlighting the government’s collaboration with the oil and gas majors to ensure the continuity of operations, particularly with the license extensions granted to the operators of blocks 14, 15, 17 and 18.
Furthermore, he underlines the important developments achieved in natural gas monetization, particularly when it comes to the “New Gas Consortium, which provides for the development of gas fields in blocks 1, 2 and 3 for the supply of Angola LNG and for other domestic projects, and the Sanha Lean Gas Connection from Cabinda which aims to build a platform for sending gas from the Nemba and Sanha fields to Angola LNG.”
Besides the extensive analysis of the many strategies and policies deployed by the sector’s regulators, the report also includes interviews with operators Total Angola and Equinor Angola, among other relevant contributions.
“At this pivotal moment in the Angolan global oil and gas industry, where uncertainty dominates the sector, the Angola COVID-19 Response report helps bring clarity to the public discourse on Angola. and It helps understand, as well as value the determined actions taken by the Angolan government authorities to mitigate the impact of this crisis,” says Sergio Pugliese, President of the Africa Energy Chamber for Angola.
The ‘Angola COVID-19 Response’ report is driving the public debate on the oil sector in Angola today and informs both the state of affairs and the decisions to be taken in the future, in the run up to Angola’s biggest annual oil and gas event, the Angola Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition, organized by Africa Oil & Power, which will take place in Luanda on the 16th and 17th of June 2021.
The first Angola Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition took place in June 2019 and registered massive success, with the presence of H.E. President João Lourenço, who opened the event, as well as H.E. Diamantino Azevedo and H.E. Paulino Jerónimo. The event also boasted seven governmental delegations and over 1,700 delegates from over 35 different countries.
Five landmark deals were signed during the conference including the agreement for the consortium of the Cabinda refinery, the MoU between the ministry and NFE International for the development of an LNG import terminal, the agreement between ANPG and ExxonMobil for Block 15, the agreement for the creation of Solenova, a joint venture between Sonangol and ENI focusing on renewables, and finally, the signing of the contract for the upgrade of the Luanda Refinery awarded to Kinetics Technology.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s second largest state generation company, Bui Power Authority, Fred Oware, has been installed as Nkosuohene (Development Chief) of Bui in the Bono Region.
He was given the stool name Semanhyia Osadeayo Nana Ababio Oware.
Mr. Oware was the first Chief Executive Officer of Bui Power Authority under the erstwhile Kufour-administration.
He was reappointed in 2017, when the New Patriotic Party, led by President Akufo-Addo, came into power.
The Chief of Bui, Nana Kwadwo Wuo II, who presented a stool and citation, indicated that Mr. Oware has personally done a lot for Bui enclave, as well as Bui Power Authority under his leadership.
He said Mr. Oware has instituted scholarship scheme for brilliant but needy students in the town, stressing that “because of the scholarship scheme, students who could not continue their education because of financial constraints are now in the tertiary institutions.”
He added that, through the effort of Mr. Oware, Bui Power Authority has given jobs to most of the youth in the area.
Nana Wuo II further stated that Mr. Oware distributed dustbins to all the household and this, he said, has helped improve sanitation situation, saying it has stem diseases such as malaria and cholera.
Fred Oware thanked the chiefs and elders of Bui for recognising his contributions in the community and honouring him.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
A report by Lazard, the world’s leading financial advisory and assets management firm has identified Solar and wind as the most affordable sources of electricity.
The report is comprised of comparative levelized cost of energy (LCOE) analysis for various generation technologies on a $/MWh basis, including sensitivities for U.S. federal tax subsidies, fuel prices, carbon pricing and costs of capital.
The cost isn’t represented by one concrete price, but rather a range of estimated prices given the circumstance applied.
In a base comparison, without taking into account subsidies, fuel prices or carbon pricing, utility-scale solar, both thin-film and crystalline silicon, as well as wind have the lowest LCOE of all sources considered. Utility-scale crystalline silicon PV comes in anywhere from $42 to $31/MWh, while utility-scale thin-film PV ranges from $38 to $29 and utility-scale wind registers the lowest possible LCOE over the largest range, from $54 to $26/MWh.
For comparison, under these same criteria, gas peaking comes in at $198 to $151/MWh, nuclear is $198 to $129/MWh, coal is $159 to $65/MWh and gas combined cycle is $73 to $ 44/MWh.
Outside of utility-scale, residential, commercial and industrial (C&I) and community solar all register much higher ranges, yet it’s misleading to look at these base figures. This is due partly to the fact that these types of facilities aren’t being built at the same scale as utility-scale solar or fossil generations assets, meaning that construction and customer acquisition costs are going to be much higher per MWh. Additionally, these projects are more reliant on the ITC to be built in the first place so their generation cost without this factored-in is not that meaningful.
When factoring in federal tax subsidies, rooftop PV comes in at $205 to $135/MWh, rooftop C&I follows at $161 to $66/MWh and community registers at $90 to $60, which is actually not that much lower than the subsidy free LCOE of $94 to $63.
Cost of operation
The really telling figures come from the comparisons between the cost of construction of new renewable energy facilities vs. operating existing fossil and nuclear resources. The only type of new renewable generation asset to have a higher per-MWh LCOE than operating existing coal is unsubsidized onshore wind, which isn’t even telling the whole story. The range of LCOE for unsubsidized onshore wind is higher at its peak than the maximum LCOE for operating existing coal, but the lowest end of the ranges favor wind, which comes in at a lowest-possible LCOE of $26/MWh, as compared to $34/MWh for coal.
As for solar, new, unsubsidized utility-scale projects come in at a LCOE range of $38 to $29/MWh, beating out coal, though coming in slightly higher than the LCOE of operating nuclear or combined cycle gas plants, which range from $32 to 25/MWh and $32 to $23/MWh, respectively. Once subsidies are factored in, utility-scale solar becomes much more competitive, at $32 to $24/MWh.
Source: PV Magazine
Ghana’s Minister for Energy has denied reports that he is sharing fuel coupons for drivers in the Hohoe Constituency in the Volta Region.
Social media was awashed with photos of GHc100 worth of fuel coupons bearing the picture of the country’s Energy Minister.
Some were shocked as to why the Minister, who is contesting the parliamentary seat of Hohoe in the upcoming general elections, could be sharing free fuel coupons.
However, a statement issued by the Minister’s campaign Communications Director, Dr Nuworza Kugbey refuted claim.
According to the statement, the alleged fuel coupon is fake and urged the general public to disregard it and treat it with all the contempt it deserves.
Warring factions in Libya signed a countrywide ceasefire on Friday brokered by the United Nations. The ceasefire is poised to lead to more Libyan oil supply to the market at a time when demand is weak, and OPEC+ prepares to ease production cuts as of January.
The UN-led mediation by the 5+5 Joint Military Commission, representing the UN-recognized Government in Tripoli and the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) of General Khalifa Haftar, agreed to a ceasefire, which UN Acting Special Representative, Stephanie Williams, said could help secure “a better, safer, and more peaceful future for all the Libyan people.”
According to Williams, all foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya should leave the country within three months. In addition, there were “good indications that the oil installations of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider will be ready to resume production in the near future, in a very short period of time,” Williams said at a news conference, as carried by Reuters.
Haftar, whose troops, with help from affiliated groups, had blockaded Libya’s oil ports in January, announced the end of the blockade on September 18.
Since then, NOC has gradually lifted force majeure on some of the oil terminals and oilfields, and Libya’s crude oil production has increased over the past month from below 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) during the blockade to as much as 500,000 bpd last week.
Earlier this month, NOC announced that it had lifted the force majeure on the largest Libyan oilfield, Sharara, which has the capacity to produce more than 300,000 bpd. As of last week, Sharara was pumping around 100,000 bpd and has further increased output to some 150,000 bpd early this week, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
The return of Libyan oil to the market has weighed on oil prices in recent weeks, and even the OPEC+ group is closely monitoring the supply increase from the country. Libya is exempted from the production cuts and could derail the alliance’s efforts to prop up oil prices and the plans to have the ongoing cuts eased by another 2 million bpd as of January.
Source: oilprice.com
The Board of India Oil Corporation (IOC) in its upcoming meeting on October 30 will consider the proposal to borrow up to Rs 20,000 crore (an equivalent of US$270.88) during the ongoing financial year through private placement of bonds and debentures.
The borrowing would be carried out in one or more tranches, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
“The Board at its aforesaid meeting would consider the proposal for delegation of authority for borrowings including borrowings up to Rs 20,000 crore during a financial year through private placement of bonds/debentures in one or more tranches, from time to time, within the overall borrowing limit of Rs 165,000 crore approved by shareholders at the last Annual General Meeting,” it said.
Shares of the oil marketing major traded on a positive noted on Thursday. Around 12.45 p.m. they were at Rs 76.70, higher by 0.85 per cent from their close.
By this strategy, Mr. Amewu explained that the mini-grid electrification is now an integral part of the rural electrification scheme and would be public sector-led investments where the assets and infrastructures are handled in the same manner as grid extension.
In that regard, he pointed out that the government would engage the private sector to undertake the supply and installation of mini-grid systems and then hand them over to a public utility entity to manage and operate just like what pertains under rural electrification through grid extension.
“The mini-grid consumers will pay the same electricity tariff as prescribed by PURC for the public distribution entities (ECG and NEDCO) for life-line, residential and non-residential consumer classification. The existing mini-grid systems installed by the Ministry for five island communities on the Volta Lake have been handed over to the VRA to own, manage and operate,” he announced.
Ghana’s Energy Minister further said procurement process is also underway for the award of contract to install and connect approximately 4000 households in these districts.
“Early this month, I broke ground for the construction of the mini-grids systems for three of these communities located in the Ada East District.
Even though COVID-19 pandemic has adversely delayed the implementation of the various mini-grids across the country, I wish to assure you of the NPP government’s commitment to commence and complete all these projects. This is why we need your votes for four more years for Nana to do more.
In order to diversify our national energy portfolio, we recently completed Ghana’s first micro-hydropower plant to be known as the Tsatsadu Generating Station (TGS) under the Ministry of Energy’s renewable energy initiative with support from Energy Commission, UNDP and Bui Power Authority. This Plant, which will soon be commissioned by H.E the President, has a capacity of 45kW with the possibility of adding another 45kW capacity turbine in the future. It is interesting to note that this power plant was wholly constructed by Ghanaian engineers.”
Touching on the Pwalugu Multi-purpose power plant, he said it comprises of a 60MW hydro power hybridised with a 50MW solar plant by the VRA, has also commenced.
This year, Mr Amewu stated that VRA also added 6.54 MW solar PV power at Lawra in the Upper West Region to our energy mix.
He said installation works for additional 62MW solar plant comprising of 13MW in Kaleo by VRA in the Upper West Region and 50MW in Bui by BPA in the Bono Region are at various stages of completion.
Touching on the theme, Board Chairman of Energy Commission, Prof George Hagan said, “It gives us a great opportunity to discuss a bottom-up national strategy for industrialisation based on the sustainable development and utilisation of Ghana’s renewable energy resources. And it invites us to be creative, innovative and quick and confident to identify and use our local potential.”
To explore the theme, Prof. Hagan said “we have invited experienced policy makers and leaders of technological innovations and industries to lead us in our discussions over the two days of the Fair.”
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The Government of Ghana, therefore, secured a loan facility of €50 million from Agence Française de Développement (AFD) for VRA to finance the Kpong Generating Retrofit Project.
Speaking at the commissioning of the project on Monday, October 26, 2020, Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo said the project would guarantee the efficiency, sustainability and reliability of the country’s power generating plants.
The completion of the retrofit, according to President Akufo-Addo, “restores this power station into as new condition, and guarantees the country 30 more years of operation.”
The ceremony was witnessed by traditional rulers, District Chief Executives, officials from the Ministry of Energy, and CEO of some state power companies.
The President said: “The completion of this project is further proof, if any were needed, of the expertise of Ghanaian engineers and technicians in their ability to administer new technologies for the effective management of our power plants. It is particularly gratifying that, in spite of the disruptions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the contractor, VRA and the consultants were able to complete this project within a reasonable time frame.”
President Akufo-Addo added that the government would continue with its efforts to support the energy sector so it could address all the challenges it faces, particularly, the considerable financial burden on the sector posed by the excess power capacity, contracted by the Mahama-government, and reiterated the commitment of his government to making Ghana a net exporter of electricity in West Africa.
He, therefore, charged the VRA, which has been in the export trade for some fifty years, to ensure that it expands the frontiers of its current operations to countries like Mali, who requires additional electricity supply, to meet its development needs.
“Not only will this allow us to meet our objectives, but it will also underline the spirit of co-operation which is the foundation of ECOWAS, of which I am, currently, its Chairman,” the President added.
He stressed that the government would continue to support renewable energy development such as hydro, solar and wind, with the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam and Lawra and Kaleo Solar Power Plants buttressing the point.
“I encourage the Volta River Authority to explore the development of a hydro site on the Oti River, and collaborate with the Ministry of Energy on the other hydro sites on the Pra, Ankobra and Tano Rivers, in order to reduce our national carbon footprint in the electricity sector,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo thanked the French Government and the European Union for the support offered for the realisation of this project.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
He added that, through the effort of Mr. Oware, Bui Power Authority has given jobs to most of the youth in the area.
Nana Wuo II further stated that Mr. Oware distributed dustbins to all the household and this, he said, has helped improve sanitation situation, saying it has stem diseases such as malaria and cholera.
Fred Oware thanked the chiefs and elders of Bui for recognising his contributions in the community and honouring him.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com 
However, a statement issued by the Minister’s campaign Communications Director, Dr Nuworza Kugbey refuted claim.
According to the statement, the alleged fuel coupon is fake and urged the general public to disregard it and treat it with all the contempt it deserves.
