A 50-megawatt land-based solar power plant, targeted at fostering industrial growth and enhancing energy resilience in the country, has been commissioned at Galgu in the Yendi Municipality of the Northern Region.

The facility, worth about $59 million, is spearheaded by the Bui Power Authority ( BPP) in collaboration with the Grid Company Limited, and financed by First Sky Limited under an engineering, procurement, construction, and financing agreement.

The solar power plant, operated by harnessing sunlight and converting it into electricity, would be fed directly into the national grid.

Mr Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, Chief Executive Officer, Bui Power Authority, speaking during the commissioning of the facility at Galgu, said it was to expand sustainable power generation and to reaffirm the government’s commitment to increasing renewable energy to 10 per cent of the country’s energy mix by 2030.

The ceremony was also used to commission the Grid Company Limited’s building, another layer of the facility, which would help evacuate the power generated to other sub-stations of the BPP.

Mr Dzamesi said the solar plant would not only support Ghana’s climate goals by reducing dependence on fossil fuels but also help to address the energy needs, particularly in the northern part of the country.

He said it would help create more employment opportunities in the area whilst at the same time enhance more reliable and cost-effective electricity supply into the national grid.

He added that local businesses would be stimulated, and new investments would be attracted to the region, and urged residents to own the facility by protecting it.

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, who was represented by Alhaji Hammed Abubakar Yussuf, Yendi Municipal Chief Executive, was optimistic that the facility would stimulate sustainable socio-economic growth and development to further consolidate the peace in the Dagbon Traditional Area.

Meanwhile, prior to commissioning the facility, Mr Dzamesi and other dignitaries paid a courtesy call on the Ya-Na Abukari (II), Overlord of Dagbon at his palace in Yendi to commend him for providing a 140-acre land to enable the construction of the facility in the area.

Ya-Na Abukari (II) commended the BPP and partners for the initiative, and pledged to ensure that the facility was protected to enable it achieve its intended purpose for the area.