President John Mahama on Thursday broke ground for the construction of Solar Park, a flagship solar project of Solar For Industries (SFI) at Agortor in the Dawa Industrial Enclave of the Greater Accra Region.
The SFI, a subsidiary of LMI Holdings Limited, named the project the Norbert Anku Solar Park in honour of the late Mr Norbert Cormla Djampos Anku, who passed away in 2023, a passionate believer in solar power generation for industries.
The Project, when completed, will supply power to the Enclave Power Company (EPC) network, serving industrial clients rather than the national grid.
The ambitious initiative is set to become one of the largest solar installations in West Africa with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MWp) by 2032.
The project will be executed in phases, beginning with an initial 200 MWp installation, the largest and only private utility-scale farm in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa).
Execution of the project will take place in two phases – the first 100MWp is expected to be completed by December 2026, with the remaining 100MWp to follow within nine months thereafter.
President Mahama remarked that this milestone brings together energy, innovation, and industry under one bold vision.
“Today’s ceremony is not just about turning the soil to cut sod, it’s about turning a page in how we power our growth, in how we build our industries, and how we secure our energy future,” he said.
He reiterated that the Project marks a significant shift towards renewable industrial energy.
“This facility will produce clean, stable, and affordable electricity, dedicated to Ghana’s manufacturing and export zones. And this is the core of our 24-Hour Economy and Industrial Recovery Programme,” the President said.
“When we launched the Reset agenda, we pledged to make energy the catalyst for inclusive industrialization.
“Our objective has always been clear, to create a Ghana where every factory, every cold storage facility, every digital hub, and every export plant can operate efficiently day and night without fear of power interruptions or the burden of high energy costs.”
He said the Solar for Industries project was therefore not an isolated initiative; saying “it is part of a national blueprint that links energy transition, industrial competitiveness, and climate responsibility”.
He said as Ghanaians embrace the 24-Hour Economy, Ghana’s need for dependable power would grow across all sectors, manufacturing, food processing, mining, textiles, and ICT; adding that projects like this would enable that expansion to be both possible and sustainable.
He said under the National Renewable Energy Master Plan, the Government had set an ambitious target to achieve a minimum of 15 per cent renewable energy share by the year 2030.
He said through initiatives such as SFI, they were advancing this goal and aligning Ghana with a global clean energy transition.
This, he said, would enable the nation’s industries to remain competitive under the new global trade regulations, including the European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism, which would soon penalise exports from countries with high carbon footprints.
He said investing in solar-powered industrial parks today helps protect Ghanaian jobs, maintains market access, and positions our industries to compete and export confidently under the African Continental Free Trade Area and other trade agreements we have with other parts of the world.
Commending the project’s partners, the President said Park Solar, Quarm Investments, and the International Finance Corporation had demonstrated exemplary faith in Ghana’s industrial transformation.
“Your collaboration shows what can happen when public vision aligns with private enterprise.”
Mr Kojo Aduhene, the Chief Executive Officer of Quarm Investments, announced that upon completion of the Project, industries located in the Dawa Industrial Enclave taking power from them would enjoy a 10% discount.
Mr Kyle F. Kelhofer, Senior Country Manager for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group, said the partnership with LMI Holdings, over $80 million to date, with another $50 million forthcoming, demonstrated their shared commitment for sustainable investment and initiatives that could reduce costs for businesses, providing essential power, that would provide market access to power, and help create more and better jobs.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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