Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, also known as TAQA, and the Volta River Authority (VRA), a state-owned entity, have announced the start of commercial operations at the expanded T2 power plant in Ghana.
The 330 megawatt power plant located in Takoradi is now feeding electricity to the national grid, accounting for around 15 percent of the country’s total capacity.
Power demand in Ghana is growing by 10 percent annually and the expansion of T2 is an essential component of the government’s plan to end the frequent power outages that are slowing the country’s
growth, a statement said.
TAQA has a 90 percent interest in the Takoradi T2 plant. All power produced from T2 is sold under a 25-year power purchase agreement with the VRA which owns the remaining 10 percent.
“We are proud to help restore reliable power to the homes and businesses of Ghanaians for many years to come,” said Saeed Mubarak Al-Hajeri, TAQA chairman.
“The investment TAQA has made to ensure the success of this project underlines the major positive impact it will have for people locally and for our shareholders in Abu Dhabi through the additional income from the sale of power.”
TAQA expanded T2’s capacity by converting it from a simple-cycle to a low-cost high-efficiency combined-cycle generation facility that uses waste heat to generate additional power. The conversion increases the net generating capacity from 220MW to about 330MW with no increase in fuel consumption or emissions.
“The expansion of T2 will improve the efficiency of the electricity generation system and help provide a reliable source of affordable electricity for the people and economy of Ghana,” added Osafo Adjei, managing director for TAQA in Ghana.
T2 is TAQA ‘s second major project to be completed this year after starting full commercial operations at its Bergermeer gas storage facility in the Netherlands in April, and plans to commission its two remaining major power and water projects in India and Fujairah later this year.
