The Volta River Authority (VRA) is to construct a 150-Megawatt wind power plant to supplement power generation in Ghana.
The project, the first of its kind, is a component under the VRA's Renewable Development Programme and would be completed in two phases.
The first phase, which would generate 75 MW would be located in Anloga, Anyanui and Srogbe communities in the Keta Municipality in the Volta Region, while the remaining 75 MW would be located at Wokumaglje and Goi communities in the Ada West District in the Greater Accra Region.
The Principal Engineer for Renewable and Integrated Resource Development of the VRA, Mr. Ebenezer Antwi, in an interview said the project when completed, would serve half of the unit of power from the Akosombo dam.
He said technology in renewable energy had matured and the cost had declined over the years, making it cheaper, therefore the need to consider wind and solar energy to ease pressure on hydro power generation.
Mr. Antwi said the project would help increase power generation capacity and diversify sources of generations in the country.
He said it has been government's policy to develop 10 per cent of electricity generation in line with renewable energy, adding that the demand for electricity was high therefore the need to seek other alternatives to meet the growing demand.
Mr. Antwi said the aim of VRA's renewable energy programme was to diversify generation portfolio and also to introduce renewable, generations for the benefit of the country.
According to him, wind power was highly sensitive to the speed of wind generated in relation to the amount of electricity generated from the plant and the pricing of the electricity.
“So we tried to look for places with good wind, logistics and accessibility, we did one year of measurement in about eight areas in Ghana and out of that some areas in Keta Municipality and Ada West district were selected, Mr. Antwi said.
According to him VRA was currently discussing with two partners for loan acquisition to bring on board equity partners to undertake the construction.
Mr. Antwi said the economic life span of the wind power was 25years, adding that due to improvement in technology, the turbine could be renovated to prolong its life span.
He was optimistic that the project would create jobs, serve as tourist attraction since it's new in the country.
According to him, the project has no adverse effect on the environment and it would help Ghana to keep its greenhouse gas emission level safe.
Source: B&FT
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