President Akufo-Addo being assisted to commission the project
President Akufo-Addo on Saturday commissioned a 6.5-megawatt solar power plant at Lawra in the Upper West Region.
The sod-cutting ceremony for the solar projects at Kaleo and Lawra was done by the President early this year, and the contractors have been able to complete them on schedule.
Speaking during the commissioning, President Akufo-Addo said, “I indicated at the time that once completed, these two projects will deliver a combined power supply of about 20 megawatts to the national grid. Eight months on, I am happy to commission the first of the power projects which has been completed, and that is the 6.5-megawatt solar power project here at Lawra.”
“The completion of this project at Lawra should remind all of us that the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo delivers on its promises,” he said.
The President continued, “As I indicated at the sod-cutting ceremony, this solar plant is the first of its kind ever to be established in the Upper West Region. This means the Upper West Region has now its fair share of power generation facilities in the country.”
He was confident that the solar plant at Lawra and Kaleo, whose combined output is sufficient to meet a significant portion of the electricity demand in the Upper West Region, would help support local small and medium scale enterprises, as well as enhance other socio-economic activities and also help to reduce transmission losses on the national grid and improve the reliability of the distribution system at Lawra and its environs.
“I am pleased that the contractor, in the process of constructing this plant, employed some 100 people from communities within the Lawra District. I am expectant that persons, particularly the youth, with the requisite technical skills, would be recruited for the operation and maintenance phase of this facility,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo added, “It is gratifying to learn that the Volta River Authority (VRA) will ensure that this facility becomes a source for practical studies on solar power operations by technical universities in the regions of the northern sector of Ghana.”
As part of their corporate social responsibility to the community, both VRA and Elecnor, the project contractor, have undertaken to provide smaller installations of solar power as back-up power to some specific facilities in the community, namely the Lawra Hospital, Municipal Police Command and a stand-alone system to the Lawra paramount chief’s palace.
The President applauded VRA and Elecnor for their leadership and commitment to the welfare of the people of Lawra, and applauded them for delivering the project ahead of schedule in spite of the challenges posed by Covid-19.
“The Ghanaian people are very grateful to the German government for providing the €22 million funds for the project. I look forward to the early conclusion of the negotiations for the second phase of this project, whose discussions are currently ongoing,” he added.