GE plans ‘ambitious’ power plant in Ghana
General Electric has expressed interest in Ghana’s power sector with the US firm planning to build a 1000 megawatts (MW) power plant in the country.
If it comes to fruition, this will boost power generation in Ghana as the country currently battles with frequent power shortages.
Jay Ireland, President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Africa disclosed this during a meeting with Ghana’s Energy and Petroleum Minister, Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Buah on April 3, 2013, a statement issued by the Energy Ministry says.
Mr Ireland who led a team of senior GE executives to meet the Minister, indicated his company’s excitement about the opportunities in Ghana’s power sector which he describes as a growing industry.
He observed that a lot of opportunities exist in the power sector for independent power producers (IPPs) in Ghana, adding that besides the company entering the market itself, it has the capability to bring in other investors in an effort to lead the public-private-partnership (PPP) in the energy sector.
The GE delegation, the statement says, also discussed the company’s infrastructure investment plan for Ghana, and shared the scope of the company’s involvement in a number of current and planned projects.
Mr. Ireland said his company was already liaising with some institutions to develop programmes for implementation as well as working with some IPPs for project development.
On his part, Mr. Buah said GE’s plans to build the power plant “fell within the government’s vision of achieving 5000MW of power by close of 2016”.
The Minister said having been part of Ghana’s infrastructural growth for some time now, it was only prudent for GE to fully venture into power production, adding that the right environment awaited them.
By Ekow Quandzie
I wonder if this is a Nuclear Station….bad, bad, bad! The World will eventually be destroyed by damage to Nuclear Reactors. A much better power producer would be a Thorium Reactor. The only reason a Nuclear Reactor is used is to get Plutonium……so the Morons can make Nuclear Bombs!
Barry.
This is good news for Ghana and indeed the West african sub region. we welcome such moves. i only pray they will not ask VRA to sign any PPA with them but would actively fully play in the open market. welcome GE.
I’m from Ghana and I work for GE. This will be nothing less of a blessing to my homeland. The current power situation is horrendous considering the backbone of a developing country is its energy infrastructure. I’m proud to be with a company that prioritizes the development of sustainable energy solutions 🙂
To Barry Davis – They would never be able to build a nuclear power plant by 2016.