Mere Power wants gov’t guarantee for project

Mere Power Nzema Limited (MPNL), the independent power producer that plans to build a 155-megawatt solar plant in the country, wants a government guarantee for its off-taker agreement with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) before the start of construction.

“MNPL has obtained all the necessary requirements such as land, approvals and permits to facilitate the project commencement. We are awaiting the consent and support agreement from government to enable the company to undertake the project and increase Ghana’s energy stock,” Mr. Paul Forjoe, MNPL’s director, said.

The company wants government to guarantee the power-purchase agreement with ECG; so that in the event ECG is unable to pay for the power it purchases under the agreement, government will pay on its behalf.

Mr. Forjoe said if government completes its part, the project will commence in September this year and finish in March next year.

The US$350-million solar photovoltaic power plant, the largest in Africa, will consist of over 600,000 solar modules producing 242,000 megawatts of power per annum for the country.

Government wants solar, wind and other renewable energy sources to constitute at least 10 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2020.

Ghana’s renewable energy law provides an underwritten guarantee for renewable assets to be connected to the electricity grid and have power purchased by the ECG at a regulatory approved tariff rate.

Speaking to journalists at a media workshop, Mr. Forjoe said the country has a transparent and rigorous regulatory framework in place that provides certainty to the market, and he believes the Nzema project alone will contribute around 20 percent of the government’s renewable energy target for 2020.

He said the first concept for the project was developed in October 2010, and it was driven by the shortfall in electricity supply in the country.

The project will give jobs to about 500 people, of whom 200 will be engaged full-time, and only 22 will be expatriates, Mr. Forjoe said.

“By making significant additions to the country’s existing energy stock, MPNL hopes to support government policy by facilitating economic growth, contributing to national development as well as enhancing individual livelihoods.”

He said he is confident that the project will receive the necessary government consent that will enable it to take-off for the country’s benefit.

Mr. Douglas Coleman, Project Director, said the country has abundant sunshine that can be harnessed to facilitate national development, saying Mere Power is, therefore, committed to partnering with government to make use of the natural resource in order to generate solar energy that will supplement what is currently being supplied to the national power grid.

Mere Power Nzema is a subsidiary of Blue Energy, the British energy firm.

By Benson Afful | B&FT Online | Ghana