Eni to develop 20MW solar project in Ghana

The Italian oil and gas company, Eni, has announced plans to develop a 20MW photovoltaic (PV) project in Ghana.

The project will be located in the Tamale area, in the north region of Ghana, and is part of several of the company’s activities in the country.

Eni has also been developing an integrated oil and gas project in the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) block, as well as investing GHS45.2mn (US$10mn) into improving the living conditions in the west of Ghana.

The firm also has plans to assess the Volta basin with the outcome being the installation of floating PV power plants.

SEE ALSO:

• Kenyans to get cheap solar power

• 10MW solar plant opens in Uganda

• Sh8bn invested into M-KOPA Solar by global agencies

• Read the latest issue of African Business Review here

The PV project is adhering to the Government of Ghana’s new aim to source 10% of its energy from generation mix from renewables by 2020.

The renewable industry is new to Eni, who previously worked with traditional fuels.

With the aims of diversifying the business, in September Eni cooperated with Sonatrach, an Algerian power company backed by the government, to make a 10MW PV plant.

For Ghana this is the first major step towards solar development, following years of zero growth.

Earlier this year, the nation’s largest supplier of solar power, Volta River Authority (VRA) unveiled plans to develop two utility-scale PV plants in the upper west region of Ghana.