Three Districts to benefit from VRA’s 20MW solar plant in Oti

Officials from the Volta River Authority (VRA) have acquired about 20 hectares of land for the construction of a 20-megawatt solar power project in three districts in the Oti Region.They are Krachi West Municipality, Krachi Nchumuru, and Nkwanta North Municipality.The project is part of the government's effort to ensure that the Oti region had its fair share of energy generation.The country's inadequate and inconsistent electricity supply often causes widespread blackouts, and power cuts and occasionally leads to total failure of the national power grid in the three districts and Municipality of the region.Most homes and businesses usually resort to generators, inverters, and other sources of power to avoid dependence on the unreliable national grid, especially in Kete-Krachi.Recently, the management of Krachi West Hospital threatened to close the mortuary and other departments due to insufficient or fluctuating power.Mr Kojo Osei, an engineer of VRA said it was crucial for improving the quality o f life and fostering economic development in the areas with energy being the crucial resource.He said the project was expected to create job opportunities and stimulate economic growth in the region.Deputy Superintendent of Prison (DSP), Mr Daniel Machator (rtd), the Oti Regional Minister, said the technical and cost environment now made it possible for the nation to encourage as a matter of policy, the large-scale development of solar plants in Ghana, adding that the Government was fully supportive of the VRA and others to expand renewable energy projects.He said the combined output of two out of the three projects was sufficient to meet a significant portion of the electricity consumption in the three districts.Mr Machator was confident that the projects would support local small and medium-scale enterprises as well as other socio-economic activities of the people.Nana Mprah Besemuna III, President of the Oti Regional House of Chiefs and Krachi-Wura, described the process of consultation with trad itional leaders prior to the start of the projects as well-thought-out development, and commendable, adding that it ensured the factoring in of all the concerns of his people.He pledged the traditional council's commitment to working closely with the Government and other stakeholders for the effective installation of solar panels for the generation of electricity power.Source: Ghana News Agency