Boakye Agyarko, Minister for Energy
General Electric (GE) is billed to supply power generation equipment for Ghana’s 400 megawatt (MW) Bridge Power project located at Tema.
Upon completion, the 400 MW greenfield project will be Africa’s first Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) fired plant and the largest of its kind on the continent.
The project will provide electricity equivalent of up to 17 percent of Ghana’s capacity and address the long-term energy requirements of the country.
In a statement, GE said the equipment, which will be used in the first phase of the project, will collectively generate 200 MW of power, adding that an additional 200 MW of power will be deployed in the second phase of the project.
“The equipment scope includes GE’s TM2500 gas turbine generator sets and GE’s steam turbines in a combined cycle (CC) configuration.
“This will be the first time the TM2500 gas turbines will be used in a combined cycle configuration globally and marks a milestone for the technology, which was also selected this week for Angola’s ambitious electrification programme led by PRODEL,” it said.
Leslie Nelson, Chief Executive, GE’s Gas Power Systems for Sub Saharan Africa, said the Bridge Power plant successfully brings an integrated power solution driven by GE’s latest flexible technology.
He said the 400MW Bridge Power and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import, storage and transportation infrastructure project will address Ghana’s long-term energy requirements.
“Upon completion, it will be Africa’s first LPG fired power plant and the world’s largest plant of its kind. The fuel-flexible plant will also be capable of being fueled by LPG, natural gas or diesel,” Mr. Nelson said.
Bridge Power is being developed by the Early Power Limited (EPL) consortium under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The EPL consortium comprises Endeavor Energy, a leading independent power development and generation company focused on Africa; Sage, a leading independent trading firm in Ghana and GE (General Electric).
The Bridge power plant project will bring much-needed electricity to Ghana and is expected to have an immediate positive impact on the operations of schools, factories, offices, local businesses, hospitals, as well as households.
By Cephas Larbi