Siemens committed to first wind power project - Seeks govt’s guarantee to start
Siemens Ghana is hopeful the government will soon provide the needed sovereign guarantee for the financing of the first wind power project in the country.
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The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Siemens Ghana, Mr Edward Acheampong, told the media on the sidelines of a customer engagement seminar for Siemens Ghana clients that their optimism about the project was partly informed by the government’s agenda to utilise renewable sources of energy in Ghana.
“Now that the government is making a pledge for renewable energy, the project is back on the table and we are pursuing it seriously,” he stated.
The establishment of the 100-150 megawatts capacity wind power plant has been on the drawing board pending government’s support for the project. It is also expected that financing from local banks will kick in to ensure its fullest implementation.
“We will be grateful if the government provides the guarantee for the projects,” he said and added that in a situation they did not get access to the guarantee, they would focus on other sources of financing.
He explained that Siemens was also concentrating on getting investors to provide partial risk guarantees for the financing of the project.
“The project is presently at the tendering stage, therefore, once it goes through, we will be in a better position to tell when we will deliver,” he stated.
Working with local developers
The Senior Vice-President of Power and Gas Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Andreas Pistauer, said Siemens intended to jointly work with local developers to build the first wind power project in the country.
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“It is also important to emphasise that our interest as a global technology leader in electrification is jointly to team up with local developers to work together,” he said.
“Siemens is at the heart of Africa’s energy future, with advanced technology proven locally and internationally. It is essential to keep the market in touch with our latest offerings, which is what the workshop achieved,” he stated.
Mr Pistauer observed that Ghana was a strategic partner for Siemens in West Africa and added that “we value every touch point and interface with our country partners.”
He said energy experts from Siemens were at hand to give interactive insights into the most advanced technology suited to regional requirements.
Focus, he said had been placed on the recently launched 44-megawatts aero derivative gas turbine for mobile power generation.
He added that the SGT-A45 TR mobile unit addressed the growing market for fast power. This aero derivative gas turbine is packaged for rapid deployment and can be installed in less than two weeks. According to him, that made it particularly beneficial for customers with urgent power needs.
“Power generation is one of the factors of economic growth; every modern economy needs electricity in order for its businesses to grow,” he added.