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.
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00:00It covers the size of five football pitches and floats on the Bui Reservoir on the Black
00:07Volta River in Western Ghana.
00:10This swimming solar power farm is the first of its kind in West Africa.
00:17Panels are resting on the floaters and we are using the same floaters as the walkway
00:22as you can see that I'm standing on one.
00:25For maintenance purposes we are able to come and have a daily inspection as you can see
00:31my team doing.
00:32So each day we do an inspection on the PV models and the cables that we have here.
00:41Floating solar panels have some advantages over those on land.
00:44They take up less space and can be positioned closer together.
00:48The swimming panels generate energy from light above and below.
00:56The sun is reflecting up here and we are having another reflection below the PV models because
01:05we call something the albedo index.
01:07The reflective index of the river is very high and so we are able to also generate from below.
01:15The floating solar power plant currently generates five megawatts at peak output.
01:20According to the energy company, this is enough to power the closest town, Wenshi, with a
01:25population of around 40,000.
01:28Combined with the electricity from Bui's hydroelectric plant and the panels on the land, hundreds
01:33of thousands of homes can be supplied with clean energy.
01:40In the control room of the floating power station, engineers check that everything is
01:44running smoothly.
01:47Outside, the inspection is still ongoing.
01:53The power plant has given many women the opportunity to work in a field that used to be male-dominated.
02:01Working here has given me a lot of opportunities and I've got a lot of satisfaction working
02:06in a male-dominated area.
02:07The authority has some strategic policies that allows you to work and feel okay in terms
02:16of no one will feel neglected, bullied.
02:19We are operating in an environment where all voices are heard.
02:23No one will take you for granted.
02:24Sexual harassment is not tolerated here because there are a lot of strict and strategic policies
02:31that guide us here.
02:33The Bui hydro power plant was finished in 2013, but has not been without controversy.
02:39Its dam flooded around a fifth of the bordering national park and fertile farmland.
02:45More than a thousand people from eight communities, including the village of Bato Akanyakrom,
02:50were resettled.
02:52This poster challenged their livelihoods, but some were compensated.
03:01They asked us what trade we want to learn and each one made their choice.
03:05I chose tailor.
03:06They bought me the machine and paid for training.
03:09Now I am close to graduation and will soon be making my own money.
03:20Others living downstream from the dam complain that conditions have worsened since it was
03:24built.
03:30When the dam wasn't there, fishing was good, but now they control the water and that affects
03:36those of us who fish on the periphery.
03:39We used to get good catches, now we are struggling.
03:43Engineer Maximilan Kwateng, however, says that fingerling populations below the solar
03:48panels appear to be thriving.
03:50The shade from the panels is also believed to help prevent evaporation.
03:58Some experts believe that the floating plant could negatively affect aquatic life in the
04:02river.
04:03We are covering the water surface with the PV system, reducing the penetration of light
04:14into the water.
04:15So it is possible that there is aquatic life in there that needs some appreciable amount
04:23of sunshine that will be affected.
04:28There are also plants that will not get sufficient sunlight for their growth because they will
04:38need that for their photosynthesis and therefore there are fish that also depend on those plants.
04:45There is no doubt that the dam has had an impact, both positive and negative, on the
04:51region.
04:53But the combination of hydro and solar power is helping Ghana become more energy independent
04:58and shift away from fossil fuels.
05:02Now it generates only 1% of its electricity from renewables.
05:07It's aiming for 10% by 2030.