Africa's largest floating solar system

Ghana has installed a huge solar energy array on the Bui reservoir, cutting land use and boosting renewable energy output. The project can also protect aquatic life from overheating.

Ghana is now home to the largest floating solar PV system in West Africa. It’s part of a hybrid plant that utilizes both solar and hydro resources to generate and supply power to the national grid. 

The 5 megawatt facility at the Bui generating station in the Bono region deploys photovoltaic modules on water infrastructures, conserving land and avoiding the need to cut down trees. Its engineers say the panels also create a healthy environment for fish spawning underneath, promoting fingerling production and supporting aquatic ecosystems. 

However, the development of the hydro-solar PV hybrid system has been controversial. More than a thousand people from eight communities had to be resettled, and critics are concerned about its environmental impact: its dam flooded around a fifth of the bordering national park as well as fertile farmland, and fishermen living downstream say conditions have worsened since it was built. 

But the plant is helping Ghana become more energy independent and shift away from fossil fuels — and towards its goal of generating 10% of its electricity from renewables by 2030