President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday commissioned 13 Megawatts solar power plant at Kaleo in the Nadowli District of the Upper West Region.
The £22.8 million solar plant of the Volta River Authority (VRA), which sits on a 20.4-hectare land began in February 2020 when President Akufo-Addo cut the sod for its construction.
The project, which forms part of the first phase of VRA's renewable Energy Programme, is the second utility-grid-connected Solar Project after the 2.5MW solar power plant was commissioned in 2013.
Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony at Kaleo, President Akufo-Addo said the project, expected to provide power to 32,000 households, was a demonstration of the government's commitment to diversifying the country's energy generation portfolio and increasing the country's renewable energy generation mix.
He said the solar plant and other interventions to achieve energy efficiency --the use of natural gas for thermal generation, adoption of cleaner cooking solutions, decarbonisation of oil production, amongst others-- were all to help accelerate the attainment of Ghana's contribution to the Glasgow COP26 Declaration.
At peak sun hours, the Kaleo and Lawra plants can meet the entire load of Wa and its environs. This can make Wa the greenest city in Ghana.
The government, President Akufo-Addo indicated, has invested hugely in the electricity transmission network to support the extension of electricity to all parts of Ghana.
Since 1961, when Ghana started commercial production of electricity, almost all the generation assets, except the Bui Hydropower plant, have been located in the middle and southern parts of the country.
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That, the President indicated, informed the government "as part of our development trajectory, to bring some of these sources closer to the Northern part of Ghana to open up additional opportunities in that region's development drive."
"Under this Government, we have completed a 6.5 megawatts solar plant in Lawra, which I commissioned. Today, we are here signing off on this thirteen-megawatt (13MW) addition," President Akufo-Addo stated.
The President said the Kaleo-Lawra Solar Power Plant, which among others, would stabilise voltage levels and reliability of power supply in the region and reduce the nation's carbon footprint, also employed 130 natives in its construction
The project, which would boost tourism potential at Kaleo, would also serve as a destination for educational and technological field trips in the region.
It will contribute to promoting the advancement of science education, engineering and technological activities in the area and broaden the career outlook of our young people, the President added.
