Kpone Independent Thermal Power Station is a 340 MW (460,000 hp) multi-fuel-fired thermal power station being developed in Ghana. The power plant is situated in the Kpone neighborhood of Tema, the country’s largest and most populous city, which is located 32 kilometers (20 miles) east of Accra, the country’s capital.
Construction was anticipated to cost around US$900 million, borrowed from the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC). The other two financiers and equity partners include Sumitomo Corporation and FMO. The plant’s construction started in 2015, and commercial operations started there in 2019.
Kpone Thermal Power Station owners
Owning the power plant is CenPower Holdings, a privately held power producer with local Ghanaian shareholders, African Finance Corporation (46%), and InfraCo Limited (24%). The EPC contract to design, procure, build, and commission the power plant was given to Group Five Power Projects. Group Five hired WorleyParsons, an international company with expertise in engineering, procurement, and construction, to handle the design tasks.
The power plant will be cooled by seawater that is accessed through underground pipes, and the hot water effluent will be returned to the sea via the same pipes. For integration into the national electricity grid of Ghana, the electricity produced by this station will be sold directly to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Reported on 10th September 2014
US$ 374m Kpone Independent Power Project in Ghana to be undertaken by Group Five
Group Five, a South African firm, has worn a project for the designing and constructing a 350Mw gas and oil-fired power plant in Ghana. According to a Group Five spokesman, the Kpone Independent Power Project contract will run for three years in order to see through the construction of the plant located in the Kpone municipality.
The notice to proceed with construction of the Kpone power plant is expected once the commercial and financial close has been reached, and according to the company spokesman, the Kpone power plant project was in the commercial and financial close stage. The issuance of the notice to proceed will mean that the contract can be executed.
General Electric and Siemens are among the technology giants to supply the generating equipment to be utilized at the Kpone Independent Power Project facility.
The Kpone Independent Power Project is being financed through a commercial debt package arranged by FirstRand Merchant Bank – acting as a coordinating lead arranger to the arrangement. The bank is South Africa’s third biggest bank division of the FirstRand Bank.
The US$ 374m Kpone municipality gas power plant will help Ghana generate low-cost, reliable and efficient thermal power. It is expected that the plant will help deregulate Ghana’s electricity sector.
Group Five has operated in Ghana for over 15 years.
Reported on 9th October 2014
Africa to have the largest independent power plant built in Ghana
Africa is to have the largest independent power plant built in the Sub-Saharan region, Ghana. Cenpower Generation Limited has already signed an agreement for the construction of the Kpone Independent Power Plant (KIPP) in the Tema industrial zone at a cost of US$900m to finance the project.
The Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant is projected to start streaming in 2017, adding about 10% of Ghana’s total installed capacity and approximately 20% of the country’s available thermal generation capacity. It will be amongst Ghana’s most fuel-efficient thermal power stations in meeting Ghana’s growing electricity demand.
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Oliver Andrews Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the African Finance Corporation (AFC) said that Africa’s public and private sectors are coming together in innovative and sustainable partnerships to create bankable energy infrastructure projects in response to the continent’s economic growth.
A US$ 650 million debt tranche will be provided by a consortium of South African Commercial banks and international Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), with the rest of the funds being a US$ 250m equity tranche. Rand Merchant Bank (‘RMB’) acted as the Global Lead Bank and Mandated Lead Arranger for the commercial banking tranche.
Nedbank and Standard Bank Mandated were also involved as Lead Arrangers. Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelings Landen N.V. (FMO), the Dutch Development Bank, acted as the Mandated Arranger for the DFI tranche.
Sumitomo Corporation of Japan, African Infrastructure Investment Fund II and its co-investors (via an investment vehicle called Mercury Power) and FMO will be joining the equity consortium via equity raising as new investors, whilst InfraCo, the principal project co-developer since inception, is leaving the equity consortium. Cenpower has already signed a deal with the South Africa-based Group Five for the procurement, construction, and engineering/design of the new power plant.
Reported on February 3rd, 2015
Ghana: Construction of Kpone power plant starts
Construction of the Kpone Power Plant is set to commence after the cutting of sod for the start of work by Ghana’s Vice President Amissah-Arthur last week. Kpone Power Plant, an Independent Power Producer project (IPP) in Ghana will also be the most efficient plant in the country in terms of costs and use of fuel according to CenPower Generation Company Chairman Mr. Samuel Nana Brew-Butler.
The power plant, which is expected to come online by 2017, is expected to add about 10% of the nation’s generation capacity and supply power to an estimated one million households. It will also be strategic as the West African Gas Pipeline is expected to land at Tema.
The US$900m thermal power project funded by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) will have a tri-fuel configuration powered by gas, light crude oil, and distillate to minimize fuel supply risks in the country.
AFC is an African investor, and infrastructure and development financer. However, the project construction company is African, assisted by an indigenous Ghanaian sub-contractor. The project is also expected to give birth to the largest Independent Power Plant in sub-Saharan Africa.
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine technology will be utilized for the Kpone Independent Power Plant – the technology is a combination of both gas and steam turbines. Waste heat produced by the gas turbine is used to run the steam turbine. It is considered the most efficient combination of the two.
Mr. Brew Butler also said that Vitol would build fuel storage tanks for the plant. While launching the construction of the Kpone Independent Power Plant, the Vice President said the government would increase power access to households and productive sectors to help grow the economy. The power plant is expected to add 2800MW to the national power supply.
Reported on 25th April 2016
Combine cycle power plant in Ghana is 42% complete
The construction work of the 350MW combined cycle power plant in Ghana is at 42% complete. The plant project commenced on 29th January 2015 and is expected to be handed over in September 2017.
The US$900m projects which are under execution by Cenpower Company will include a generation plant, transmission substation, and fuel supply assets.
During his inspection of the ongoing plant project, Vice President KwesiAmissah-Arthur lauded the Ghanaian partners in the Cenpower Company for working tirelessly to ensure the realization of the project. Arthur also acclaimed the company for its local content policy, which he said had boosted the training and skills transfer as well as provided employment for the residents.
The power plant is situated at the Cenpower Generation Company Limited at Kpone, near Tema. However, the Cenpower Company’s efforts to increase and stabilize the country’s energy supply has led to increased investment by Independent Power producers in the power sector. Nonetheless, the achievement has all along been in line with the government’s agenda to add 5000MW of power to the national grid.
Despite the improvements in the current energy supply, the country still needs about a 20% reserve margin before the nation can completely be self-sufficient when it comes to the power supply.
The Vice-President also unveiled a Tunnel Boring Machine at the project site. The tunnel will be used to construct sea water intake and the outfall, as a cooling system for the Combine Cycle Gas Turbine power plant.
The TBM has been deployed to help drill underground passages and tunnels for various projects as well as minimize the environmental impact of the construction activities.
The Vice President also made his way touring the new 161kV power substation and the installed first gas turbine, generator, and other auxiliaries.
According to Cenpower Company Limited Chairman, Samuel Nana Brew Butler, the company eyes to become Ghana’s leading private sector Power Company by supplying fuel-efficient, reliable and sustainable electricity countrywide.
Reported on June 21st, 2016
Ghana unveils tunnel boring machine for Kpone Power Plant
Ghana Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has unveiled an ultramodern Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) for the 350MW KponePower Plant.
Coleman Tunneling Africa (Pty) Limited provided the TBM and deployed by the EPC Contractor. The TBM is expected to be used to construct the seawater intake and the seawater outfall, which will be used as a cooling system for the Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant.
After the TBM launching the VP had a brief chat with the Cenpower Generation Company Limited officials expressing his satisfaction with the ongoing work on the KIPP project. He seized the opportunity to appeal to the engineering companies to adopt the improved ways of drilling that will ensure clean power generation for the country.
According to Theo Sackey, Cenpower Generation Company Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the company is highly committed to delivering the project on time. Additionally, the KIPP project, which kicked off in January 2015, is at the moment over 40% complete. Group Five Power International of South Africa is the EPC contractor for the project.
Also known as Kpone Thermal Power Station II, KIPP is a 340MW multi-fuel-fired thermal power station that is still under construction in Ghana. The power station is owned by an independent power-producing company, Group Five PowerInternational. The company had been awarded the contract to design, fund, and construct the power plant at an approximate cost of US$900m, borrowed from the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
Other equity partners and funders include the Sumitomo Corporation and FMO. The plant construction began in 2015 and is expected to be completed by 2017. The power station is located in the Kpone neighborhood of the port city of Tema, approximately 32km east of the central business district of Accra, the capital and largest city of the country.
