Prof Elvis Nyarko (in shades and jacket) assists the chief of Nungua and other dignitaries to cut the tape to the solar farm
Redavia GMBH, a German solar energy installation company, over the weekend presented the first phase of a solar farm project to the Regional Maritime University (RMU) at Nungua near Accra.
Vice Chancellor of RMU, Prof. Elvis Nyarko, who commended Redavia for the fantastic work, said the agreement for the project was reached with the support of government and the Ministry of Transport.
He said RMU began a collaboration with Redavia GmbH Germany in 2017 for the provision of 5 container loads of solar panels to generate 0.5 megawatts at its peak period to reduce electricity tariffs.
With the collaboration, he said Redavia would also build a world-class solar energy laboratory on campus at no cost to the university to support RMU’s Master of Science Renewable Engineering programme which was currently undergoing accreditation.
“This will make RMU the first university to have such a facility in the sub-region to train students in solar and other renewable energy technologies to the highest level.”
Appealing to Redavia to expedite action on the setting up of the laboratory to aid technology transfer, he said so far three of the containers had been installed and were currently supplying 266 kWp of solar power to the university during daylight even on cloudy days.
“RMU thus is enjoying significant reduction in energy cost.”
He said the Redavia solar power programme is affordable, as it’s mainly charged as monthly rental fees based on consumption.
“In addition, the solar farm also leads to a notable reduction of carbon emissions as a result of lower consumption of grid power and on-site diesel power. The school plans to expand the solar farm and add on-site energy storage to eliminate power grid outages that are regularly impacting the university’s operations on a regular basis.”
Irwin Spolders, CEO of Redavia GmbH, Germany, said his outfit is poised to expand the solar farm and provide solar educational opportunities at RMU.