TC’s Energy, a Ghanaian renewable energy production company has contracted Swedish wave technology developer, Seabased, to deliver a 100MW wave energy plant near Ada.
Also participating in the project are Glico Insurance and Fidelity Bank who are the official insurers and bankers for the project whose first phase is expected to be completed within twenty-four months.
TC’s Energy which holds a power purchase agreement, PPA, for 1000MW will own and operate the facility which will cost US$200m on completion of the first phase.
Addressing the media in Accra yesterday to officially announce the venture, chief executive of TC’s Energy, Mr. Tony Opoku explained that this new technology will use the sea waves to generate the power which will then be evacuated onshore and fed into the national grid.
He explained that the absence of a high-tension grid from Ada, the project site into the national grid means the initial power generated in the coming months will be fed into the Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG, transformer at Ada temporarily while work commences on building a high-tension link between the project to Sogakope where the nearest GridCo transformer is located and the power eventually fed into it.
‘This contract marks the culmination of a long process towards building Africa’s first utility scale wave park, and we hope it will lead to the expansion of renewable energy across Ghana and West Africa.
‘The commercial viability of Seabased’s mechanically simple, yet robust design appealed from the beginning, it is very well suited for the wave climate of Ghana,’ he added.
He also announced that contracts with contractors and subcontractors have been signed citing Arab Contractors as the company building the undersea structures.
Seabased’s Chief Executive Officer, Oivind Magnussen also expressed his happiness at the fact that years of preparation for this project has finally paid off. ‘The necessary studies, permits and PPA are all in place and we have the experience of a successful pilot under our belt. We feel well-prepared to step into this final phase of manufacturing and delivering the wave park,’ he stated.
This phase of the project is being built with funds from SKC, Swedish export credit guarantee. The wave park will be manufactured, delivered and installed in several phases while final negotiations for financing the of the complete wave park are ongoing and involve both European and African private investors, private financial institutions and public funding institutions. These talks are expected to be concluded positively later this year.
Present were the chief executives and directors of Fidelity Bank and Glico Insurance who all expressed their happiness at being associated with the project.
By Kafui Gale-Zoyiku
