Developing a Large Scale Solar PV Plant in Ghana

Avior Energy Ghana LTD

� April 21st , 2015 � By Dr. Kofi A. Asante

� Paths to Success

� Technical Analysis

Grid Integration

� Value Added proposition/ Social Responsibility

� Financial Investment

� Financial model with a favorable LCOE

� Location of Plant

� Substation Capacity

� Topography of Land

� Focusing only on Africa, it has been reported that estimated PV LCOEs range from $0.20- $0.51/kWh (Bazilian et al, 2013).

� On the other hand the PV LCOE for Canada ranges from $0.10 -$0.15/kWh (Branker et al, 2011), while that of the USA varies widely from $0.07-0.18/kWh for utility scale under various incentives (DOE, 2011).

� What can Ghana do to reduce the LCOE ?

Source: Ministry of Energy

Source: Ministry of Energy

� Topography of Land

Large scale solar Farm

Licenses and Permits

M.O.U’s

Arrange Financing

Energy Consulting

(Manufacturing, Community

planning, UN, etc)

P.P.A

Construction of Farm

Commissioning of plant

� –Electric utilities are concerned about the ability of the utility grid to operate within design tolerance when faced with an increasing percentage of the generation mix being supplied by intermittent sources.

� –Specific technical concerns related to intermittency involve grid stability, voltage regulation, and power quality (voltage rises, sags, flickers, and frequency fluctuations).

� –Other technical concerns involves protection and coordination. Operationally, the current utility grid was designed to accommodate power flowing from the central generation source outward to the transmission system and eventually to the distribution feeders.

� –Grid protection systems were not designed to coordinate with small generators upstream from the central generation source that produce so-called “back feeding”.

� –Inverters must be designed to communicate with utility systems and energy management systems to lessen these technical concerns.

� Excellent Corporate Social Responsibility

-creates a positive image for the business

-community will do everything to safeguard the . interest of the PV Plant

� Training locals in assembling solar Lanterns etc.

� Creating a foundation

Lack of an appropriate responsibility it is a pitfall . for the company

� A lower LCOE can encourage Foreign Investment

� Bankability of PPA is also a boost to investor Confidence

� Technical Barriers are easily surmountable as mentioned

� By the methodology adopted, site, CF and capital cost can reduce the LCOE, and make the project viable

� FDI’s can be encouraged using favorable policies

� Technical Challenges can be mitigated as indicated in the talk.

� Ghana represents a very Good Climate for PV Investment

� Thank You