24. August 2022
Volta River Authority, with support from the German Development Bank KfW, has assigned Multiconsult to assess the potential for installing a floating solar PV plant on Lake Volta or Kpong hydropower reservoir in Ghana. Lake Volta is the world’s largest man-made lake by surface area.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are steadily becoming an important part of Ghana’s energy mix. However, as grid-connected solar PV facilities tend to be land-intensive, the Government of Ghana wants to explore opportunities for installing floating PV on the existing hydropower reservoirs.
Floating PV technology is considered more environmentally friendly and socially acceptable than land-based solar PV. Multiconsult will conduct a technical, environmental, and social impact assessment to help identify the best location of the project and to ensure that it can be implemented in a sustainable manner.
– Multiconsult has pursued floating solar PV as a strategic priority for several years and this assignment confirms that we are at the forefront of this industry, says Vegard Willumsen, Vice President of Energy Systems in Multiconsult.
With its extensive specialist expertise in hydropower and renewable energy development, Multiconsult has worked in the energy sector in Africa for more than 40 years, as well as positioned itself as a global market leader in floating solar PV and hybridisation of hydropower with other variable renewables.
The assignment will be led by Syed Ali, Senior Advisor in Multiconsult. He will manage a team of solar PV specialists, hydropower experts, electrical engineers, economists, and environmental experts who will be tasked with designing a pilot PV facility that can be commissioned in the shortest possible time. Multiconsult will also develop a concept for future extension up to 50 MW or more.