Mahama Commissions Ghana's First Solar Power Plant
The first-ever solar power plant in the Sub-Saharan mainland was on Thursday commissioned at Pungu, near Navrongo in the Kassena-Nanka East Municipality of the Upper East Region.
The construction of the two megawatts solar power plant was undertaken and financed by the Volt River Authority, at the cost US$8 million.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Volta River Authority, Mr. Kweku A. Awortwi, said the completion of the plant signified the authority's commitment to diversifying its energy portfolio, from its current hydro and thermal sources, to include solar, wind, and biomass.
The 2mw solar plant comprises of six photovoltaic arrays, covering 9.6 acres of land.
Each array was fixed mounted and at an angle of 12 degrees to enable easy cleaning and maintenance of the panels, which is done once a month.
The CEO revealed that Ghana receives sunlight 350 days of the year. Its irradiation potential - the amount of sunlight the country receives on a daily basis ranges from 4 to 6 kwh/day, in comparison with countries like Germany, where there are currently up to 7.5 giga watts of solar plants installed, and where irradiation levels range from 3 to 4.5 kwh/day, a fraction of what Ghana receives.
Mr. Awotwi further explained that the amount of sunlight received at the Pungu Plant, located South of Navrongo, was measured as 5.5 kwh/day, considered one of the highest in Ghana, thus the reason for choosing the site for the plant.
He hinted that plans were far advanced to add more solar capacity to the VRA's portfolio.
He said the German Development Finance Agency, KFW, is currently processing a grant of Euro 22.8 million, which will be sufficient to add another 12mw of capacity at Kaleo and Lawra in the Upper West Region.
The funds for these projects are expected sometime this year, while the authority was in negotiations to acquire another 140 acres of land at Bongo in the Upper East Region.
President John Dramani Mahama, who unveiled the plaque and turned on the switch to power the plant, was satisfied with the level of work and the capacity of the plant, and therefore, reiterated his commitment to ending the current energy situation in the country.
According to him, since his assumption of office as President in January this year, he had spent the greater part of his efforts at solving the energy crisis, but was quick to add that with the level of human resource and technology, the energy crisis of the country would soon be a thing of the past.
President Mahama observed that the growth of the country's economy had brought about a high level of energy consumption, and therefore, called on the private sector to also consider partnering the government in the production of energy.
He said payment for electricity in the country did not commensurate the high cost of its production, and urged electricity consumers to avoid illegal connections, and pay realistic tariffs for the power they consume.
The President announced that, so far, about 10,000 solar lamps had been distributed to communities that are not connected to the national grid, and promised that more of such communities would be given the lamps, to reduce the burden on the poor.
During the ceremony, the Upper East Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru-Limuna, presented 120 solar lamps to the Kassena-Nankana East Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Emmanuel Andema, to be distributed to some selected communities in the area, which do not have electricity.
The Minister for Energy, Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Chief of Staff Prosper Bani and other senior and junior staff of VRA, including chiefs and their subjects in the Navrongo area, were there to witness the ceremony.