Bui Power Authority (BPA), has hinted that work is on-going steadily to add one million watts/one megawatts (1MW), of another renewable energy project to the national grid.
According to the Authority, the 1MW Floating Solar PV system, constructed on the Bui Dam reservoir, that is to be add it to the national grid by early April 2021, is the first of its kind in the West African subregion.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Bui Power Authority, Dr. George Tettey, reiterated that high on the agenda of management is a plan to increase the capacity of the floating solar system to five megawatts (5MW) by end of 2021.
“The engineers are currently conducting various tests on the 1MW system and will add it to the National Grid by the early April 2021. The authority aims to increase the capacity of the floating solar system to 5MW by end of 2021,” he said.
Dr. Tettey, reiterated that the authority’s main target for 2021 is to consolidate the strides it has made in 2020, and further keep to its commitment to support government to meet its target of ensuring that 10 percent of power generation by the year 2030 is from renewable energy source.
Touching on the other significant projects that the authority has undertaken in 2020, he stated that based on the experience from the construction of the Bui Hydroelectric Project, BPA also designed and constructed a 45kW Tsatsadu Generating Station (TGS) at Alavanyo in the Volta Region, in collaboration with Ministry of Energy, Energy Commission, United Nations Development Programme and the International Network on Small Hydro Power of China.
A project which also served as a practical tutorial plant for engineering students across the country and the West African sub-region.
“Last year, we completed some landmark projects some being the first of its kind in the country: The commissioning of the first 50MW of our 250MW Hydro-Solar Hybrid project; completing a 1MW of the country’s first floating solar system; commissioning the 45kW Tsatsadu generating station; and the amendment to our BPA Act which allows us to develop renewable energy and other clean energy alternatives in the country beyond the Black Volta River,” he said.
Highlighting that through the various aforementioned initiatives, BPA has increased job creation for the communities in which it operates, especially as a result of increased activities in renewable energy (Solar).
