USTDA Awards Two Power Africa Grants to Ghanaian Energy Developers
June 24, 2016
(USTDA)
LONDON, United Kingdom – Today, at EnergyNet’s 18th Annual Africa Energy Forum,
the U.S. Trade and Development Agency signed two grant agreements with Ghanaian
energy companies.
“Together, these projects have the potential to add 70 megawatts of renewable
energy to Ghana’s grid and to power 140,000 households,” said USTDA’s Regional
Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Lida Fitts. “We are proud to advance the goals
of Power Africa, a U.S. government-led initiative to increase electricity access
across the continent.”
USTDA signed an $899,995 grant to Village Corps Ghana Limited for a
biomass-to-power project in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Village Corps has
selected Recast Energy LLC (Richmond, Va.) to conduct a feasibility study for a
giant bamboo farm and steam-based power plant, which has the potential to
generate up to 20 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. The study will include
an assessment of the available biomass and biomass logistics, a site
recommendation, an interconnection study focusing on power evacuation to the
grid, economic and financial analyses, and a project implementation plan. Recast
Energy will also be conducting a comprehensive social and environmental impact
assessment.
“Village Corps is proud to lead this effort to help meet the energy needs of the
Eastern Region in Ghana,” said Mr. Norman Beaulieu, Founder of Village Corps.
“We look forward to working with our partners and the communities of the Akyem
Abuakwa Kingdom to develop this innovative clean energy facility.”
The second grant of $926,614 supports the efforts of eleQtra (West Africa)
Limited to develop a 50 MW wind power project in the Greater Accra region. The
grant supports technical assistance for the project’s technical design and
engineering, including a bankable wind resource assessment. Specifically, the
assistance will include the preparation of technical studies and reports to
determine the energy production, topographical, geotechnical, grid
interconnection and market characteristics of the project. It will also include
the preparation of tender documents for the selection of the EPC contractor and
long term service provider, as well legal support in the negotiation and
execution of project and financing agreements.
eleQtra is a leading developer of power and transportation projects in
sub-Saharan Africa and has been delivering greenfield power infrastructure on
the continent since 2005. eleQtra’s strategy is to develop, invest in, own and
operate clean energy and transportation solutions. “This project will help meet
the growing demand for energy in Ghana by diversifying power sources,” remarked
eleQtra’s CEO, Mr. Gad Cohen. “We are proud to partner with USTDA to develop
innovative solutions for the Ghanaian energy sector.”
The opportunity to conduct the USTDA-sponsored technical assistance for eleQtra
will be competed through Federal Business Opportunities (FBO). A link to the FBO
announcement will be posted to USTDA’s website at www.ustda.gov. Interested U.S. firms should
submit proposals according to the instructions in the FBO announcement.
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