In the heart of Bui, a small town located in Ghana’s Bono District, Bui Power Authority’s Hydro-Solar Hybrid plant has made significant strides in revolutionizing the energy landscape and promoting local industries in a sustainable manner.
Ghana, like many African nations, has long faced issues of energy access and reliability, hindering industrialization in both urban and rural communities. From late 2012 to 2016, Ghana experienced a severe electricity crisis called “Dumsor”.
This crisis was caused by a drought from Lake Volta that threatened the production of electricity from the Akosombo Dam. Ghana’s largest power station. The crisis triggered a severe energy curtailment program that resulted in major load shedding across the country. At the height of this crisis, consumers were experiencing power outages of at least 16 hours every 24 hours.
Although the country has made significant strides in increasing access to electricity to 86% – ranking 1st in Sub-Saharan Africa – energy reliability and affordability remain ongoing challenges and Ghana still faces persistent power supply challenges.
To address these shortfalls, the Government of Ghana introduced policy interventions in 2019 aimed at boosting the use of renewable energy sources and meeting its commitments to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7). Key to these interventions was the Government’s Renewable Energy Master Plan, which sought, among other things, to increase the share of renewables in the national power generation mix from 42.5 MW in 2015 to 1,363.63 MW by 2030.
Through this, Ghana has integrated some renewable energy solutions into its national grid, which also includes a Hydro-Solar Hybrid (HSH) plant at Banda in the Bui enclave. This HSH plant, managed by Bui Power Authority, has a hydroelectric capacity of 404MW and solar capacity of 55MW. The plant uses Huawei’s Smart Photovoltaic (PV) solution to power the national grid that supports communities, factories, businesses and small businesses of more than 24,000 locals in the Banda community.
The locals, whose main occupation is raising cashews and sugar cane, rely heavily on the generated energy to run the machinery needed to plant, harvest and process these raw materials into valuable end products such as sugar and cashew oil.
Among them is a Cashew Nut Processing Factory located within Bui enclave called Bui Cash-U Factory. Covering an extensive area of approximately 2000 m2, the factory currently employs approximately 150 people to process between 6 and 8 tons of cashews daily. Apart from providing employment opportunities, the factory also focuses on equipping the locals of the Bono area in the cashew nut value chain business.
“Through this factory, I learned how to plant, harvest and select the best cashew for processing,” said Afeke, a factory worker. She also mentioned that the factory provides a steady and better source of income compared to her previous seasonal job.
Cashew is of considerable importance to Ghana, especially in terms of foreign exchange earnings. According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the country was the world’s largest cashew exporter in 2021, earning over $128.70 million from cashew exports in the first quarter.
Home to 10 active cashew processing plants, Ghana has the capacity to process 65,000 tons of raw cashews annually. The country’s cashew industry currently employs over 800,000 people directly and indirectly throughout the cashew supply chain, including farmers, factory workers, buyers and exporters.
Huawei’s Smart PV Solution extends beyond power generation. In partnership with Meinergy, the owner of the cashew factory, and the Bui Power Authority, the company seeks to provide industrial training to 800 local people in the cashew value chain business.
Speaking on the matter, the First Lady of Ghana, Rebecca Akufo-Addo said her office remains committed to working closely with industry partners and Huawei to help bridge the gender gap and transform the lives of residents of Ghana.
According to her, “the world is going green and projects like the Hydro-Solar Hybrid plant powering the operations of a huge cashew factory in a rural town, is an indication that Ghana is on the right track towards realizing a sustainable and eco-friendly digital future.”
Harnessing the power of renewable energy, this initiative not only addresses the nation’s energy challenges, but also paves the way for economic growth, bringing hope to rural communities and empowering them for a brighter future.