Renewable Energy Access to the Ghana National Interconnected Transmission System • William Amuna, CEO - GRIDCo

• Chris Mensah-Bonsu, Ph.D., Principal Consulting Advisor - GRIDCo

• Bernard Modey, Director, System Operations – GRIDCo

Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo)

Presentation outline

• Brief overview of the Ghana Grid Company

• Ghana’s 2020 renewable energy policy target and incentives

• Generator connection process

• Generator connection studies, agreements and commercial operation

• Connection facilities, network upgrades and cost responsibility

• Challenges to renewable energy development

• Conclusions

Ghana Grid Company - overview

• Ghana Grid Company is wholly owned by the Government of Ghana

• GRIDCo began operation in 2008 in accordance with the – Ghana Energy Commission Act, 1997 (Act 541)

– Volta River Development (Amendment) Act, 2005 (Act 692)

• Governed by a government appointed Seven Member Board

• GRIDCo is the independent system and market operator of the Ghana National Interconnected Transmission System (NITS)

GRIDCo overview – core functions

• Acquire, own and manage transmission assets

• Develop, promote and facilitate fair and

competitive wholesale electricity market

• Provide transparent and open access for all market

participants

• Serve as the main artery between bulk electric

system customers and generation companies

• Facilitate development and connection of new

assets to the NITS including renewable energy

• GRIDCo is a major power utility industry player

within the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP)

GRIDCo overview – Ghana NITS • 2,361 MW record system peak demand

(2016)

• 4,300 MW load forecast (2020)

• 28 Bulk electric customers

• 7 Generation companies (incl. IPPs)

• Volta River Authority is the state-owned

power generation company

• 3,739 MW installed generation

capacity (3 hydros & 11 thermals)

• 4,100 MVA transformer capacity across

65 Substations

• 5,500 Circuit-km of transmission lines

(69 kV – 330 kV) with about 50% fiber-

optically equipped Control area inter-ties and service areas

• West - Cote D’Ivoire

• North - Burkina Faso (service area)

• East - Togo and Benin (service area)

Ghana’s 10% by 2020 renewable

energy target and incentives Regulatory and legal instruments

• Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832)

• Renewable Energy Sub-code

Incentives

• Provide enabling environment, good price signal and reasonable

rate of return on investment

• Guaranteed 10-year FIT rate

• Duty-free import taxes on renewable system equipment

• Renewable energy fund

• Net metering allows for compensation

Key renewable energy sources

• Solar photovoltaic

• Small run-off the river hydro

• Wind, biogas, biomass

Ghana renewables map Hydro potential Solar irradiance

Courtesy of the Ghana Energy Commission

Generator connection process

Step 1 – Connection Application

Connection Applicant notifies GRIDCo by

submitting new Generator Connection

Application Form (GCAF) containing

information about the:

• Connection Applicant

• Project location and site ownership

• Deposit the connection study fees

• Technical data and electrical

characteristics of the project for modeling

and studies

New Connection Application

Grid Study, Report & Meetings

Connection Agreement &

Execution

Commercial Operation

GCAF URL:

http://www.gridcogh.com/medi

a/photos/forms/market/Applicat

ion_Form_-

__Wholesale_Suppliers_-

_February_2016.pdf

Generator connection process

New Connection Application

Grid Study, Report & Meetings

Connection Agreement &

Execution

Commercial Operation

Step 2 – Technical Studies, Study Report

and Meetings

GRIDCo engineers perform study to identify

generator impacts to the NITS and solutions to

address the problem and issue study report to the

Connection Applicant

• GRIDCo identifies Connection Facilities,

Reliability & Delivery Network Upgrades and least

cost option to address any grid issues

• Connection Applicant is responsible for mitigation

cost

• GRIDCo meets with customer to discuss the

study report and results

Generator connection process

New Connection Application

Grid Study, Report & Meetings

Connection Agreement

& Execution

Commercial Operation

Step 3 – Connection Agreement

Connection Applicant will be issued an agreement

documenting the conditions, study results and

costs

• Agreement document will include terms of

connection to the NITS, construction schedules

and milestones

• Connection Applicant agrees to abide by

GRIDCo’s engineering, operational and

reporting requirements and applicable codes

• Required facilities and upgrades will be built

according to GRIDCo connection standards and

requirements

Generator connection process

New Connection Application

Grid Study, Report & Meetings

Connection Agreement &

Execution

Commercial Operation

Step 4 – Commercial Operation

Safe and reliable generator connection

and synchronization to the NITS is

guaranteed

• Commercial operation date should

be scheduled to accommodate

GRIDCo’s system demand

conditions and outages

• The new generator is market-ready

and can now participate in the

GRIDCo’s electricity market upon

achieving commercial operation

Generator connection studies

and meetings • Preliminary feasibility study

• Scoping meeting

• Grid study and study reports

• Study results meeting

• Report may serve as supporting documents for MOU

• Facilities assessment study to finalize connection

facilities, network upgrades and costs

• Connection agreement

• Reassessment/revision study due to project withdrawals

• Commercial operation

• Reconciling study fee deposit and cost responsibility

Generator modeling, study

assumptions, report and meeting

Your project is here!

Study, Results &

Report

Study Results

Meeting

Means of connecting new generator to the NITS

Transmission line tapping

Switching station (substation)

Challenges to renewable energy

development

• Access to credit to pre-finance renewable projects

• Acceptance of renewables in the energy portfolio mix as a viable option for meeting the load

• Developing technical know-how, supply chain and expertise for system operations

• Understanding the impacts of renewables on system operations and the grid

Conclusions • The Generator Connection Application Form streamlines

the connection process and provides uniform, and

transparent guidance to all Connection Applicants

• Grid study identifies connection facilities and network

upgrades to ensure safe and reliable connection, least

cost option and cost responsibility

• Generator connection is a shared responsibility between

GRIDCo and the Connection Applicant

• Balanced portfolio mix of hydro, thermal and renewables

will be needed to meet our growing electricity needs

• GRIDCo is strategically facilitating energy Collector

Stations to proactively accommodate RE connections

• GRIDCo is committed to Ghana’s 10% by 2020

renewable energy target and its electricity market

What to take away