Ghanaian engineers build first-ever floating solar in West Africa

The first of its kind in the West Africa sub-region, the construction of the floating solar on the Black Volta by the Bui Power Authority at Bui in the Banda District in the Bono Region of the country forms part of an initiative towards renewable energy.

The floating solar power plant represents a novel method of deploying photovoltaic modules on the lake, thus preserving the land for other projects.

It forms part of a US $48 million 250 megawatts project on both land and water which will provide electricity to about 59,230 households.

The novelty of this project is that it is expected to be expanded to 65 megawatts making it the largest floating solar park in Africa. Small floating power plants have been built in South Africa, Kenya, Burundi, and Tunisia.

Ghana is targeting to achieve 10 percent renewable energy penetration by the year 2030 hence the initiation of this project. Deputy Director of Renewable Energy at the Bui Power Authority, Peter Acheampong said “We are done with the 5 megawatts, what you see behind me is generating power. We are currently undergoing what we call a pre-commissioning test to ensure all the components are working.”

Acheampong also confirmed the plans to scale up the floating solar. “There are plans to scale up the floating solar to about 65 megawatts. At BPA, we do not just scale up, but our scaling up depends on what we call the renewable master plan for the country,” he noted.

The BPA has already made significant strides in the renewable energy sector. Their solar farm, which began operations in November 2020, currently generates 50 megawatts of power.

This solar farm has been successfully integrated into Ghana’s National Interconnected Transmission System (NITS), facilitating the distribution of clean energy across the country.

A lecturer at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Ing. Professor Samuel Gyamfi on his part said the country will be able to achieve its target by 2030 if the right policies are put in place.

“We can achieve 10 per cent renewable energy penetration by 2030 if the right policies are put in place by the government,” he said

Ing. Professor Gyamfi added that “climate change is becoming a challenge. The earlier we embrace renewable energy the better it will be for us as individuals and country.”