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A Ghanaian renewable energy company, TC Energy, has signed a $200-million agreement with Seabased, a Swedish technology developer, for the construction of a 100-MW ocean wave power plant off the coast of Ada in the Greater Accra Region.
The project, the first of its kind in the country, will utilise ocean wave resources in Ghana to generate power suitable for grid use.
The Chief Executive Officer of TC Energy, Mr Anthony Opoku, signed for his company, while the CEO of Seabased, Mr Oivind Magnussen, initialled for his outfit.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, Mr Opoku said wave power was an emerging sector in the rapidly growing renewable energy industry that had the potential to provide more than 100 per cent of the electricity generated globally.
He said TC Energy, which holds a power purchase agreement for 1,000MW with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), would own and operate the plant when completed.
Wave power
According to him, it is estimated that, $10.2 trillion would be invested in new renewable power generation between now and 2040 and that Ghana would be the early adopter of wave power with Seabased.
He said all the necessary environmental permits, agreements and authorisations had been obtained, while detailed drawings of the wave park layout had also been acquired.
“Seabased has all the plans and budget in place for the production and execution of the project; the construction of the first generators is already underway and the plant is to be constructed with local content in mind,” Mr Opoku said.
He said TC Energy had appointed Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and GLICO Insurance Company as the local bank and insurer, respectively, for the project.
“This contract marks the culmination of a long process towards building Africa’s first utility scale wave park and we hope this will lead to the expansion of renewable energy across Ghana and West Africa,” he stated.
Renewable ocean
For his part, Mr Magnussen said Seabased was very proud to be working with TC Energy, a pioneer in the commercial development of wave resource in Ghana.
He said the wave park would be developed in phases and that the final stage of negotiations for financing the park was ongoing. It involves European and African private investors, private and public financial institutions.
“This deal is a world first and a bold step towards the commercialisation of wave energy. We applaud the government’s out-of-the-box thinking and visionary approach to electricity production,” the CEO of Ocean Energy Europe, Mr Remi Gruet, said.
