Bui Power adds 5MW floating solar plant
The Bui Power Authority (BPA), operators of the 404 megawatts (MW) Bui Generating Station, has installed an additional 4MWp floating solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the Bui Reservoir.
It is part of the company’s Hydro Solar Hybridisation (HSH) drive.
This brings the installed solar PV capacity to 55MWp, which includes 50MWp land-based and a 5MWp floating solar PV Plant.
The solar installation represents about 28 per cent of the cycle two (2021-2025) target of the Renewable Energy Master Plan set by the Ministry of Energy.
The move is the power generator’s contribution to accelerating Ghana’s target of reaching the usage of more renewable energy supply and also meeting the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target as well as reducing the company’s carbon footprints.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BPA, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, highlighted the crucial role the Bui Generating Station, located between the Bono and Savannah regions, performed in bolstering the national grid with the generation of renewable energy.
Mr Dzamesi said BPA had achieved another significant milestone by installing the additional 4MWp floating solar PVs on the Bui reservoir.
Young engineers and technical staff of the authority installed the 4MWp solar PV panels between March and May this year, using the skills and knowledge acquired during the project’s first phase in 2020.
The project also offered employment opportunities to some artisans in the Bui Resettlement Township.
Samuel Kofi Ahiave Dzamesi— CEO, Bui Power Authority
Commendable
Mr Dzamesi indicated that the installation of the floating solar PV plant was commendable, as the panels were bi-focal which helped in efficient power generation, utilising water-cooling technology and minimising the need for clearing vast areas of trees.
The floating solar panels foster a conducive environment for fish to spawn underneath, which promotes fingerling production.
The deployment of this solar technology is by far, the first of its kind not just in Ghana, but also in the entire West African sub-region.
“We at the Bui Power Authority have, therefore, integrated 404MW hydro and 55MWp Solar PV Plants, generating through a common evacuation point at BGS to the National Interconnected Transmission System. During the daytime, power is generated from both hydro and Solar PV Plants and hydro continues at night,” Mr Dzamesi explained.
Renewable energy systems
The CEO also disclosed installing a 30MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), a state-of-the-art technology used in renewable energy systems to serve as backup power, to address the intermittence associated with solar power.
The BESS would, therefore, guarantee stable power frequency to the grid during the hybridisation process.
Mr Dzamesi stated that the Chinese technology company, Huawei, cooperated very well with BPA to ensure that the components acquired were in good working condition.