Renewable Energy

Ghana to build first RE industrial park in Africa

Ghana is set to construct the first industrial and business park in Africa wholly powered by renewable energy in Takoradi, Western Ghana.

According to Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO of Siemens confirmed the reports and said a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with WestPark Enterprises was signed to develop an expandable microgrid solution for the fast-growing industrial and business parks.

The new industrial park is poised to accelerate the transformation of Takoradi – Ghana’s third-largest city. As part of the agreement, Siemens will develop a 250kW microgrid that controls the energy generation and throughput for the initial phase of buildings to be constructed at WestPark.

The microgrid will be powered by onsite photovoltaic panels. A back-up battery storage solution will be sourced as well. The grid can be expanded as more buildings are added with the aim to ensure that the park remains powered by renewable energy.

“This project is perfectly in line with Siemens’ vision for future business in Ghana and other African countries. As a company we are continuously looking for new responsible and efficient energy and infrastructure solutions, and our collaboration with WestPark is a good example of how we can support partners with similar goals,” said Sabine Dall’Omo.

Siemens is committed to economic growth across Africa, and in doing so in a forward-thinking manner by implementing environmentally sustainable solutions that will help its partners and customers succeed in today’s environmentally-conscious global market.

The WestPark aims to eliminate many of the challenges faced by companies doing business in Sub-Sahara Africa, such as access to reliable power, water, broadband internet, and transport.

Solar energy systems have a high initial cost; but typically return the investment within 5 to 8 years. The use of solar energy in South Africa is driving the use of other renewable energy sources including: wind, hydroelectric, and biomass. The South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is a competitive tender process that was launched to facilitate private sector investment into grid-connected renewable energy (RE) generation.