Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and the Volta River Authority (VRA), a Ghanian state-owned entity, have successfully started commercial operations at the expanded T2 power plant in the West African country.

The 330 megawatt (MW) T2 power plant located in Takoradi is now feeding electricity to the national grid, accounting for around 15 per cent of the country’s total capacity.

Power demand in Ghana is growing by 10 per cent annually and the expansion of T2 is an essential component of the government’s plan to end the frequent power outages that are slowing the country’s growth.

“We are proud to help restore reliable power to the homes and businesses of Ghanaians for many years to come,” said Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Taqa chairman in a press statement.

“The investment Taqa has made to ensure the success of this project underlines the major positive impact it will have for people locally and for our shareholders in Abu Dhabi through the additional income from the sale of power.”

Taqa expanded T2’s capacity by converting it from a simple-cycle to a low-cost high-efficiency combined-cycle generation facility that uses waste heat to generate additional power.

The conversion increases the net generating capacity from 220MW to approximately 330MW with no increase in fuel consumption or emissions.

T2 is Taqa’s second major project to be completed this year. The company started full commercial operations at its Bergermeer gas storage facility in the Netherlands in April and plans to commission its two remaining major power and water projects in India and Fujairah later this year.

It expects to start producing oil from its Cladhan field in the North Sea within weeks and at its Atrush project in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in 2016.

Taqa has a 90 per cent interest in the Takoradi T2 plant. All power produced from T2 is sold under a 25-year power purchase agreement with the VRA, which owns the remaining 10 per cent, according to the company.

The company recorded a loss of Dh165 million in the first half of this year and cut jobs by 22 per cent as oil prices plunged due to weak demand and oversupply.