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In a major advancement for Ghana’s energy infrastructure, the President of the Republic commissioned the Ghana Bridge Power Project on Nov. 19, 2024. This modern facility represents a significant milestone in Ghana’s commitment to expanding its power generation capacity while improving fuel efficiency and environmental sustainability. The project is to construct an up to 515MW power plant with a projected cost of $1.2 billion at Kpone, in the Heavy Industrial Area of Ghana.
Bridge Power Project is expected to meet a significant portion of Ghana’s power needs by contributing more than 7% of the nation’s dependable thermal generating capacity. This significant addition to Ghana’s energy mix can play a crucial role in meeting the increasing demand for power across the nation, supporting both residential needs and industrial growth.
This combined cycle power plant features a first-of-its-kind configuration that uses GE Vernova’s trailer mounted aeroderivative gas turbines, a steam turbine and a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) to generate up to 50% more electricity from the same amount of fuel compared to traditional single-cycle plants. By converting what would otherwise be lost as waste heat, this plant improves fuel efficiency while significantly reducing emissions, making it an important step in Ghana’s journey toward energy solutions that generate less carbon emissions.
The celebration of the start of operation of Bridge Power Station marks a first of this kind globally. Five GE Vernova trailer mounted TM2500* aeroderivative gas turbine solutions, and a steam turbine installed at the plant in a combined cycle configuration mark the first-time trailer mounted aeroderivative gas turbines are used in a combined cycle configuration globally.
Powered by natural gas as primary fuel, the Bridge Power Station can deliver up to 200 Megawatts and it is engineered to be one of the most operationally flexible combined cycle plants in Ghana.
It is owned and developed by Endeavor Energy, a leading US independent power producer focused on Africa and Andaris Energy Limited, a wholly owned Ghanaian energy investment company (collectively, the Sponsors). Endeavor Energy was founded in 2013 to work with host Governments on Just Energy Transition programs to meet baseload energy demands in West African countries. Endeavor is owned by Denham Capital, Fund VI, an energy and natural resources-focused global private equity fund. Endeavor Energy and its co-sponsors have invested a total of $1.2 billion in Ghana’s energy sector, including the 200MW Amandi TCE Power Plant at Aboadze in Takoradi. The Stage 1 project cost of $611 million was wholly funded by the sponsors and lenders.
The project will sell power to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) backed by a Put Call Option Agreement (PCOA) with the Government of Ghana (GoG). The PPA and PCOA agreements were approved by the Ghanaian Parliament and executed in September 2016, with financial close occurring on November 22, 2018. Under the PCOA, the GoG guarantees certain obligations of ECG in the event of a termination of the PPA by either party. This is the first time this innovative financing arrangement was used in Ghana. Under the PPA, the Project is to deliver power in stages:
GE Vernova’s scope also includes a 25-year service agreement, and Asset Performance Management (APM) software running in the cloud, helping ensure the long-term availability and reliability of the power plant’s gas turbines to support Ghana’s increasing energy demands. APM is a suite of software and services engineered to help optimize asset performance and O&M efficiency across equipment, the plant, and the entire fleet. The portfolio’s application for Reliability, powered by Predictive Analytics, is expected to improve asset productivity to help address the long-term energy security needs in the country.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GE.
