Enlarge

The demand for captive PV in Ghana's commercial and industrial sectors has huge potential. Due to to the high and rising cost of grid electricity coupled with the declining cost of PV technology and the influx of appropriate financing mechanisms, local companies are very interested.

A roof-top solar photovoltaic (PV) system with a capacity of 170 kWp has been installed at Bomarts Farms in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The system provides the fruits processing company with clean energy during the day, saving up to 115 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. Bomarts Farms produces fresh and processed fruits for export and the domestic markets. Drying fruits demands a lot of energy which affects the production cost of the companies and ultimately their profits. With the introduction of solar PV into their energy mix, the company has significant electricity cost savings and reduces their carbon footprint. It also serves as an example of a sustainable energy supply solution for the other agro-processing firms in the region.

The PV system consists of rows of solar panels mounted on the factory’s roof that convert energy from the sun into electricity, inverters that change this electricity from a DC to an AC, and a monitoring system that continuously tracks the output of the system and also enables remote monitoring. The power produced is supplied to the farm’s electrical system. The farm is still connected to the national grid, however the electricity produced by the solar system is solely for self-consumption and is not fed back into the grid. During the night or on cloudy days, when not enough energy is produced by solar power, electricity comes from the national grid.

German Contribution

The project was coordinated and implemented by ecoligo GmbH, which is also the project owner and operator, in cooperation with its partners. The engineering and the construction management was carried out by BeBa Africa GmbH as general contractor (EPC), the installation by its local subcontractor Tino Solutions, which will also take care of the ongoing operation and maintenance of the plants. Bomarts Farms thus does not need to hire or train separate personnel for maintenance and an continue to focus its resources on its core business. The Project Development Program (PDP) of the German Energy Solutions Initiative supported the project development process by providing technical and economic analyses and played a key role in initiating business.

The project was financed with the help of a crowdinvesting platform initiated by ecoligo GmbH. As the project owner, ecoligo has concluded a leasing contract with the end customer Bomarts Farms Ltd. The proceeds of this leasing contract are to be used to repay and pay interest on your subordinated loan.

Support of the German Energy Solutions Initiative

PDP was involved in bringing together suitable partners for this project. The early phase of project development, which was conducted at Bomarts Farms through energy demand assessments including load measurements, provided an initial indication that a solar PV electricity generation profile would be a very good fit for the company's energy consumption. These activities laid the foundation for successful project implementation.

The local partner, Tino Solutions, was trained during a PDP German Training Week (GTW) and is now one of the leading solar EPC companies in Ghana. During this event, local and German stakeholders are trained on solar or project development, pool their knowledge and establish contacts for future cooperation. The repeatedly successful cooperation between BeBa Africa and Tino Solutions is a classic example of this.

System Data

Installed capacity:	173 kWp
Investment volume:	unknown
Location:	Nsawam, Eastern Region, Ghana
Client:	Bomarts Farms
In operation since	April 2021
German business partner:	ecoligo GmbH, BeBa Africa GmbH
Type:	Roof-top solar PV
Yield:	1,413 kWh per year
Saved CO2 emissions:	Up to 115 tonnes per year
Number of solar panels:	532
Number of inverters:	3