The UK-based renewable energy company, Blue Energy, has announced plans to begin a photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Ghana. It will be the largest plant on the continent.
The plant, which will be worth $400 million, can generate sufficient energy for 100,000 homes.
The construction work of the 155MW solar PV plant will begin with in a year and will be fully functional by October 2015. The project is funded by a large European private asset and development company.
The construction will start near thevillageofAiwiasoin westernGhanaby installing around 630,000 PV modules. The project will be the first major scheme to claim for feed-in tariff incentive scheme, created by the government in 2011.
The country is expected to increase renewable energy capacity from its current 1% to 10% by 2020. According to the Douglas Coleman from Mere Power Nzema Ltd, who is the Project Director, they have succeeded in acquiring land, planning consent, probable financing, a generating license and a FIT that guarantees the most competitive prices for as long as the plant is operable.
The plant is expected to supply 500 construction jobs and 200 permanent, plant-related jobs. Unlike the distinctive troughs usually used in concentrated solar energy technology in north Africa and the Middle East, they are using solar PV that requires only light.