Global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power has signed an agreement with Swiss wind farm developer NEK Umwelttechnik to purchase the 225 MW Ayitepa Wind Farm, located 40 kilometres from Accra on the east coast of Ghana. The utility-scale winder power project is expected to reach financial close next year and start generating power early in 2016.

Under the terms of the deal, Mainstream Renewable Power and NEK Umwelttechnik will co-develop the wind farm until financial close. Mainstream Renewable Power, for its part, will manage the construction as well as the operations and maintenance of the wind farm for its lifecycle. The project is currently in the latter stages of development with all major permits secured. Grid and offtake agreements are being finalised.

When fully operational the Ayitepa Wind Farm will generate approximately 10 per cent of Ghana’s total electricity generation capacity which currently stands at 2,000 MW.

“It is my hope that this agreement between NEK and Mainstream Renewable Power will accelerate the process towards the realization of wind farms in Ghana, and they can be assured of the full support of the Ministry of Energy Petroleum,” said Mr. Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, director of renewable energy at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. “The project is consistent with government policy to increase the contribution of renewable energy in the electricity generation mix. The government has more than two years of bankable wind energy data along the south eastern corridor of the country, where wind energy prospects are very encouraging.» ¹

Eddie O’Connor, Mainstream Renewable Power CEO, described the project as the “ideal solution for Ghana, because wind and solar power are the only proven technologies in the world which can achieve the dual objectives of speed of deployment and scale.” ²

O’Connor expects the Ayitepa Wind Farm will begin generating electricity in less than 18 months from now. “No other generation technology can match that in terms of speed of deployment,” he said.

According to Dr. Christoph Kapp, NEK Umwelttechnik’s chief executive, the Ayitepa Wind Farm project will not only contribute to a sustainable, clean and independent production of electricity, but it will also be accompanied by “social benefits and improvements” for the local population. Among these benefits: jobs, education, water supply and electrification for nearby villages and towns.

REFERENCES
 

1. The Renewable Energy Act 2011 provides the necessary legal and fiscal incentives, including feed-in-tariff (sufficient security) to ensure return on investment by independent power producers.
2. Mainstream Renewable Power already has developed and built Africa’s largest operating wind farm at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, where it has three operating wind and solar farms and an additional three wind farms going into construction this year.