Upwind International AG signs investment agreement with Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. for first wind farm in Ghana
September 16th, 2014
Upwind is pleased to announce that it has signed an investment agreement with the Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. in order to sell the 225 MW Ayitepa Wind Farm, located 50 kilometres from Accra on the east coast of Ghana.
Both
companies will co-develop the wind farm until financial close, from
when on Mainstream will be in charge of the construction and
operation of the wind farm. It is scheduled that construction can
start towards the end of 2015.
The project, which is developed by Swiss engineering company NEK Umwelttechnik AG in favour of our Ghanaian project company Upwind Ayitepa Ltd., is well advanced and already has secured the major permits and project rights.
The
project, once fully operational, will be the first utility-scale wind
farm in sub-Saharan Africa. It will generate approximately 10% of
Ghana’s total electricity generation capacity which stands for the
time being at 2,000 MW.
Upwind’s
Chief Executive Christoph Kapp stated: “We are pleased to have with
Mainstream Renewable Power a very experienced and professional
partner with whom we will implement this large scale wind project in
West Africa. This project will not only contribute to a sustainable,
clean and independent production of electricity and support to
overcome the actual energy crisis of the country, but will also be
accompanied by a lot of social benefits and improvements for the
local population such as labour, better education, water supply and
electrification for nearby villages and towns.”
Commenting on the deal, Mainstream’s Chief Executive Eddie O’Connor said: “This wind farm is the ideal solution for Ghana because the country needs large quantities of electricity and it needs it fast. Wind and solar power are the only proven technologies in the world today which can achieve the dual objectives of speed of deployment and scale. From initial concept to operation, Mainstream has delivered utility-scale projects into operation in just over three years. The Ayitepa Wind Farm is well advanced and can be generating electricity in less than 18 months from now. No other generation technology can match that in terms of speed of delivery.”