20 MW PV Plant Commissioned In Ghana

• A 20 MW solar power project has been commissioned in Ghana by the country's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
• Meinergy Ghana Ltd. constructed the facility in Gomoa Onyaadze and will also operate it
• The company used 64,400 solar panels, 400 smart inverters for the facility for which it also laid 15,000 DC cables

Ghana's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo officially commissioned a 20 MW solar power project in Gomoa Onyaadze on September 16, 2018. It was constructed and will be operated by Meinergy Ghana Ltd. that used 64,400 solar panels, 400 smart inverters and laid 15,000 DC cables for it.

According to an official statement issued by the President's office, the government is in the 'process of rationalizing the contribution of Independent Power Producers (IPPs)'. "When we came into office, we inherited a plethora of IPP agreements, all of whom were contracted at the time of our crisis and, therefore, left us in a weak position, and got us accepting tariff rates of 18 cents per kilowatt hour and over. In an area in the world where 10 cents per kilowatt hour is the maximum, we are producing IPP agreements at 18 cents per kilowatt hour," said Akufo-Addo.

He announced that his government will go the way of competitive bidding for IPP arrangements. The Ministry of Energy, Electricity Company of Ghana is in possession of the directives for enforcement of these rules.

He also wanted solar panels being produced locally, under the initiative of One District, One Factory. In April 2016, Ghana News Agency reported Strategic Power Solutions had launched a 30 MW module manufacturing facility in the country in Kpone, near Tema, Ghana (see Solar Panels Made In Ghana).

Ghana has also reached out to India seeking consultancy services from Cochin International Airport, the world's first solar powered airport, to help its airports install solar power plants (see Solar Power For Ghana's Airports).

In April 2016, China's Beijing Xiaocheng Company commissioned a 20 MW PV plant which at that time was the country's largest solar power plant.

According to a July 2018 Forbes report, a 100 MW solar power plant is scheduled to come online in March 2019, when it will be one of the largest in the country. The Blue Power Energy farm with 100 MW capacity is being built by UBI Group. The company plans to add another 100 MW to the project by the end of 2020.