Amandi Energy seeks $360m MIGA guarantees for 190MW dual-fuel power plant

Amandi Energy Limited (AEL), a Ghanaian energy company is seeking guarantees totaling $360 million from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank Group to construct and operate a new 190MW dual-fuel combined cycle gas turbine power plant.

The guarantees in both equity investments in and loans to AEL is to enable the company to construct the power plant which is capable of operating on both natural gas and fuel oils (light crude oil (LCO) and diesel fuel oil (DFO), according to the Environmental and Social Review Summary of the project published by MIGA.

The document states that initially, the plant will operate on LCO until natural gas becomes available. DFO will be used as a back-up fuel in emergency situations, or for operational purposes such as start-up and shutdown, as required.

The power plant to be located at Aboadze comprises of one turbine coupled with a generator, one heat recovery steam generator and one steam turbine, it indicates.

Ghana is currently facing a severe energy crisis forcing the country’s power producers and distributors to ration power – a situation that has been nicknamed ‘dumsor’.

The country’s current installed energy capacity is 2,846.5MW. The generation sources as at April 2015 are VRA hydro, 47 percent, VRA thermal, 36 percent, VRA solar, 0.1 percent, IPP thermal, 12 percent and Bui hydro, 5 percent.

On Thursday July 30, the Board of Directors of the World Bank approved $700 million in guarantees for Ghana’s Sankofa Gas Project – a guarantee described by the Bank as a ‘record to boost energy transformation’. The AEL plant expects to get gas from the Sankofa project when it becomes operational.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi