Ghana President Akufo-Addo commissions $1.2b Bridge Power Project

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has commissioned the Ghana Bridge Power Project.

The project is to construct an up to 515MW power plant with a projected cost of $1.2 billion at Kpone, in the Heavy Industrial Area of Ghana. Bridge Power Project is expected to  meet a significant portion of Ghana’s power needs  by contributing more than 7% of the nation’s dependable thermal generating capacity.

This combined cycle power plant features a first-of-its-kind configuration that uses GE Vernova’s trailer mounted aeroderivative gas turbines, a steam turbine and a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) to generate up to 50% more electricity from the same amount of fuel compared to traditional single-cycle plants. By converting what would otherwise be lost as waste heat, this plant improves fuel efficiency while significantly reducing emissions.

The celebration of the start of operation of Bridge Power Station marks a first of this kind globally. Five GE Vernova trailer mounted TM2500* aeroderivative gas turbine solutions, and a steam turbine installed at the plant in a combined cycle configuration mark the first-time trailer mounted aeroderivative gas turbines are used in a combined cycle configuration globally.  

Powered by natural gas as primary fuel, the Bridge Power Station can deliver up to 200MW and it is engineered to be one of the most operationally flexible combined cycle plants in Ghana.  

It is owned and developed by Endeavor Energy, a leading US independent power producer focused on Africa and Andaris Energy Limited, a wholly owned Ghanaian energy investment company (collectively, the Sponsors). Endeavor Energy was founded in 2013 to work with host governments on Just Energy Transition programs to meet  baseload energy demands in West African countries.

Endeavor is owned by Denham Capital, Fund VI, an energy and natural resources-focused global private equity fund. Endeavor Energy and its co-sponsors have invested a total of $1.2 billion in Ghana’s energy sector, including the 200MW Amandi TCE Power Plant at Aboadze in Takoradi. The Stage 1 project cost of $611 million was wholly funded by the sponsors and lenders.  

The project will sell power to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) backed by a Put Call Option Agreement (PCOA) with the Government of Ghana (GoG). The PPA and PCOA agreements were approved by the Ghanaian Parliament and executed in September 2016, with financial close occurring on November 22, 2018. Under the PCOA, the GoG guarantees certain obligations of ECG in the event of a termination of the PPA by either party. This is the first time this innovative financing arrangement was used in Ghana. Under the PPA, the Project is to deliver power in stages:  

• Stage 1, a 200MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant comprises five (5) GE Vernova TM 2500 gas turbines , five (5) once through steam generators (OTSGs), one (1)  steam turbine unit, an air-cooled condenser (ACC) and associated balance of plant. Construction was started in December 2018 by the EPC Contractor, Metlen, formerly Power Projects Sanayi Insaat Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Metka). It was completed and delivered to ECG for commercial operations on 18th July 2024.  
• Stage 2, also a CCGT power plant, has a Target Effective Date of September 2025 and a 48-month construction schedule, commercial operations date (COD) is estimated for September 2029. Stage 2 output will be up to 315MW. 

GE Vernova’s scope also includes a 25-year service agreement, and Asset Performance Management (APM) software running in the cloud, helping ensure the long-term availability and reliability of the power plant’s gas turbines to support Ghana’s increasing energy demands. APM is a suite of software and services engineered to help optimize asset performance and O&M efficiency across equipment, the plant, and the entire fleet.  

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