NEK receives in Ghana the final Environmental Permit for its 200 MW Wind Farm Madavunu
After a process lasting several years, which began with an information campaign for the local population, the farmers affected and the landowners, the development of a so-called scoping report and as a result of an extensive environmental report on the environmental compatibility of the wind farm, NEK has now received from the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the final permit for the wind farm.
This project has therefore cleared a major hurdle in the approval process, as the EPA permit is the central document for all other permits required for the construction and operation of the wind farm. It thus ensures that nothing stands in the way of the construction and operation of the wind farm from an environmental point of view and that at the same time no other activities are permitted on the designated area that would disrupt or impair the operation of the wind farm.
Madavunu will have an installed capacity of around 200 MW, depending on the type of turbine ultimately selected. The EPA permit allows hub heights of up to 170 m and rotor diameters of the same size. The wind farm will be connected to the transformer station in Sege, only around 8 km away, where the network will be connected to the 330 kV line there.
We expect that Madavunu will have received all remaining permits, including the Power Purchase Agreement, by the end of 2022, so that construction of the project can then begin in 2023. Thanks to the electricity produced with this project, at least part of the opening electricity supply gap in Ghana can be covered. The project also helps Ghana to meet its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement and COP26.