The Special Ice factory has commissioned a 1megawatt solar power project, the first of its kind for a manufacturing company in the country.
At a ceremony held in Accra today, 14th August 2020 to launch the project, which was brought to life through SunPower Innovations, the Managing Director of Special Ice, Kwadwo Danso-Dodoo revealed that the solar power project came about as a result of high cost of production and operations which has mostly got to do with electricity.
“At a point we realized that our cost of production was high and had to look for options to reduce the cost. One of the main… which is high on our production and operations is electricity power.
“As a matter of strategy, we decided to weigh options we have in terms of electricity, something that will cost cheaper than what we are having, so we decided on solar energy.”
Mr. Danso-Dodoo went on to say that after testing the project, the company realized that it will be making about 50% saving on the national grid and said it is very significant on their cash flow.
He then commended SunPower Innovations for the professionalism that they exhibited in terms of carrying out the project and commended his staff for cooperating with them in terms of getting this project through.
He urged the energy dignitaries gathered, to credit and meter the excess power to them so far as the national grid is concerned.
“What I would have wished was that the excess power that we would be operating, at least we will be metered and then credited to us so far as the national grid is concerned and if this should happen, it would be a complete incentive for other industries to also get into renewable energy, as in having green energy in the country, which is very friendly for the ecosystem.”
Founder and CEO of SunPower Innovations, Ernest Amissah who spearheaded the project gave a breakdown of the project and how it was going to operate.
“What we have here is over 3000 solar panels. We have three interconnection points, two 250’s and 500 Kilowatts making it one Megawatt.
“All the solar panels generate energy; AC power is what we require for consumption. So, the DC energy generated by the solar panels is converted into AC power by the invertors. So, all that energy from the panels go through the invertors and the invertors will convert its AC so that all the equipment will be able to use it and when it does that then it supplies into the machine or the equipment here at the factory.”
He went on to say that, Special Ice demand is about 1.3 megawatts which does not peak during consumption making the 1 Megawatt ideal because it will give them the savings they need.
He also added that, this project is the maiden one for the commercial and industrial space in Ghana and urged production companies to consider it since it will cut down energy cost and help them hire more workers as well.
He commended the SunPower Innovations for taking bold steps in doing the 1 megawatt solar project.
