Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. and NEK sign deal to implement and operate Ghana‘s first industrial-size wind farm

The Swiss holding company Upwind International AG, which is part of the NEK-Group, has signed a contract with the Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. in order to purchase and take over the first large wind farm in Ghana. This refers to the Ayitepa wind park project with a planned installed capacity of around 225 MW. The project is located about 50 km east of Ghana’s capital Accra and is situated on the Atlantic coast. Mainstream is one of the worldwide leading independent developers and operators of renewable energy projects and currently features a development pipeline of more than 17,000 megawatt (MW).

The Ayitepa wind farm, which we have been planning over a period of several years now, is in an advanced development stage. We assume that all major permits incl. PPA and GCSA will be secured during the following months. Therefore, it is scheduled that construction can start towards the end of 2015.

This project will contribute to minimize the gap between demand and supply of electricity that exists in Ghana which since months leads to some vast bottlenecks in supply all over the country. Next to that, the Ayitepa wind farm comprises a big social component by offering employment to the local population, extending the possibilities of education as well as creating better water and energy supply and new access roads.