5 MW Floating Solar PV Capacity Commissioned In Ghana

• BPA has brought online a 5 MW floating solar power plant in Ghana as a pilot project
• The 5 MW floating PV facility on Bui Hydropower Dam is phase I of the agency's plans to install 250 MW solar power capacity
• Phase II of the overall capacity planned as 50 MW is already under construction

The Bui Power Authority (BPA) has announced completion of a 5 MW floating solar power plant in Ghana. Inaugurated by the country's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently, it is the country's 1^st hydro-solar hybrid power generating system, as well as the 1^st floating PV system in the West African subregion, the BPA claimed.

This 5 MW forms the pilot project of phase I of the larger 250 MW capacity Ghana plans to install in phases of 50 MW. Phase II is already under construction and work is progressing.

According to the BPA, on completion, the 250 MW will augment the 404 MW Bui Hydropower Dam Generating Station's power generation ability which would come in handy during the time the dam wouldn't be able to generate as much as during a drought. In September 2020, Afrik21 reported a BPA announcement for the 250 MW project to be located in Banda district of Bono region. It will operate for the next 25 years. The BPA expects the entire 250 MW capacity to cost an investment of around GHS 3 billion ($480 million).

BPA was formed specifically to operate the Bui Hydropower Dam that has been operational since 2013. It was built by Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China.

Ghana aims to have renewable energy sources account for 10% of its energy mix by 2030. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Ghana's cumulative installed renewable energy capacity at the end of 2019 was 1.656 GW with solar PV expected to account for 63 MW.