Sweden-based wave energy developer Seabased AB entered into an agreement with TC's Energy Ltd. to design, build and install a 100-MW turnkey wave energy park in Ghana.
Under the contract signed March 20, Seabased will have an option to assemble noncore technology as the project scales up, creating local jobs, the company said in a news release.
TC's Energy, a Ghana-based renewable energy producer will own and operate the wave facility. It already has a power purchase agreement with government-owned Electricity Co. of Ghana Ltd. for 1,000 MW.
"This contract marks the culmination of a long process toward building Africa's first utility scale wave park, and we hope will lead to the expansion of renewable energy across Ghana and West Africa," TC's Energy CEO Anthony Opoku said in the news release.
It is expected that by 2050, a majority of Ghana's population will live in cities and most of the country's major urban areas are on the coast, so it is believed the development of resources such as wave energy power generation will reduce the need for batteries and some investment in transmission infrastructure.