General Electric (GE), the American multinational conglomerate corporation, is to build a 1000 MW thermal power plant in Ghana. The plant will be powered by gas and is expected to be completed by 2019.
Ghana mostly generates its electric power from hydro power, fossil-fuel thermal energy and renewable energy sources. At present Ghana has installed 2,412 MW power generation capacity and reliable generation capacity of 2,125 MW. The country’s electricity generating capacity is targeted to be raised to 5000MW by 2015. Currently 67% of Ghana’s residents have access to electricity, and the network is being enlarged, with the goal of reaching 100% by 2020. However, the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by September 2016, which will add 360MW power to the national grid. The project will also introduce the Power Park Concept to enable lower cost of power and faster implementation.
According to the CEO of GE Ghana, Mr. Leslie Nelson, GE will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Energy to commence the project on 6th May this year. He added that the GE initiative, known as ‘Ghana 1000’, will contribute significantly to addressing the power needs of the country. He further explained that, the Ghana 1000 initiative is a pure Independent Power Producer (IPP) initiative, requiring no direct financial contribution from the Government of Ghana.
General Electric is present in 5 African countries and it operates through the following segments; Energy, Technology Infrastructure, Capital Finance, as well as Consumer and Industrial.
