USTDA awards grants to 70 MW of biomass, wind plants in Ghana

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) said Friday it will provide a bit over USD 1.8 million (EUR 1.6m) in grants to Ghanaian green project developers to help advance 70 MW of wind and biomass schemes in the country.

The larger part of the sum, or USD 926,614, will back the development of a 50-MW wind project in the Greater Accra region by eleQtra (West Africa) Ltd. The technical support grant will cover all design and engineering works, including a bankable wind resource assessment, as well as the preparation of tender documents for the selection of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor and a long-term service provider.

Meanwhile, USTDA signed an USD-899,995 grant agreement with Village Corps Ghana Ltd for a biomass project in the Eastern Region, that could generate up to 20 MW of electricity. The financing will be used for the feasibility study, comprehensive social and environmental impact assessments that are to be conducted by Recast Energy LLC for a giant bamboo farm and steam-based power plant.

USTDA said the move supported the goals of the US government's Power Africa initiative to increase electricity access across sub-Saharan Africa. The combined output of the two renewable power plants is estimated to be enough to power some 140,000 local households.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.904)

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