The Bui Power Authority (BPA) has reaffirmed its commitment to helping the Government to meet its target of ensuring that 10 per cent of power generation by the year 2030 is of renewable energy source.

Parliament amended the BPA Act in 2020, which empowered the Authority to develop renewable energy and other clean energy alternatives in the country.

The amendment strengthens the many efforts the Authority was undertaking in the renewable energy space.

Dr. George Tettey, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BPA in an interaction with the media in Accra over the Authority’s development plans for the year, said that Authority had started a drive in that regard which included completing the construction of the first 50MW of the 250MW Hydro-Solar Hybrid project.

The hybridization would aid in the regulation of the Bui reservoir by retaining more water in the reservoir for four year-round power generation at the Bui Generating Station.

The Authority did this by constructing 9MW of the project and 1MW of the floating solar project with a developer undertaking the 40MW on the Bui reservoir, he said.

Dr. Tettey said this was the first of its kind in the West African sub-region, adding that engineers were currently conducting various tests on the 1MW system and would add it to the National Grid this year.

“The Authority aims to increase the capacity of the floating solar system to 5MW by end of 2021,” he said.

The Authority, he said, had also designed and constructed the 45Kw Tsatsadu Generating Station (TGS) at Alavanyo in the Volta Region, in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, Energy Commission, United Nations Development Programme, and the International Network on Small Hydro Power of China.

The Deputy CEO said experience from the construction of the Bui Hydroelectric Project was instrumental in the design and implementation of the first micro hydro plant in Ghana by the young Engineers of BPA with local expertise.

“This project also serves as a practical tutorial plant for engineering students across the country and the West African sub-region,” he said.

Dr. Tettey said the BPA’s main target for 2021 was to consolidate the strides they had made in 2020, which culminated in the receipt of different awards from the Ghana Energy Awards – the Clean Energy Initiative of the Year and the Energy Company of the Year (Renewable) for the second year running for the Authority with its CEO Mr Fred Oware being adjudged the Energy Personality of the Year.