Nzema Solar Power Station is a

solar power plant A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building- ...

, under construction in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. When completed as expected in 2017, the power station will be the largest solar power installation on the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n continent.

Location

The power station is located in ''Awiaso Village'', Ellembelle District (''formerly part of'' Nzema East District), in the Western Region of Ghana, approximately , by road north of the port city of

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indu ...

. This location lies approximately , by road, east of the international border with Ivory Coast.

Overview

The power station will use a total of 630,000 solar photo voltaic (PV) modules which, when struck by sunlight, will generate

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or eve ...

(DC) electricity. Using

inverters A power inverter, inverter or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the opp ...

, the DC will be converted to

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...

(AC), which will be fed in the national electricity grid, to power an estimated 100,000 homes. When completed, it will raise Ghana's national electricity generating capacity by 6%.

Developers

The developer/owner of the power plant is ''Blue Energy Plc.'', a United Kingdom-based renewable energy developer. The company, has received regulatory approval from the ''Energy Commission'' and the ''Public Utilities Regulatory Commission'', the two electricity regulators in Ghana. A generation licence and a guaranteed feed-in tariff of US$0.20 per kWh for the plant's 20-year operational life have been secured. A power purchase agreement with the national electrical supplier ECG, has also been secured. ''Mere Power Nzema Limited'', a special vehicle subsidiary of Blue Energy Plc., has been formed to develop, build, operate and own the power station. It has leased near the village of Aiwiaso in the Western Region of Ghana for a period of 50 years to build the power station.

Costs, funding and timeline

Nzema is budgeted to cost approximately US$400 million. Blue Energy plans to source that capital from International financial institutions, multilateral lenders, equity partners and own capital. With a guaranteed purchase price of US$0.20 per kWh, the power plant is expected to break even in about 11 years. Construction is expected to be complete in October 2016.

References

External links