Wind farm developers in Ningo-Prampram help communities fight coronavirus

Enercon GmbH, Lekela Power B.V. and NEK Umwelttechnik AG, the companies behind the Great Ningo Wind Farms at Ayitepa and Konikablo, today donated goods for the people of Ningo-Prampram to protect themselves against the coronavirus. The items, which include face masks and sanitizers, were presented by the Community Liaison Team, namely Emmanuel Adjei Kordie, Jeff Amoah and Samuel Manorty, to the District Chief Executive of Ningo-Prampram, Jonathan Teye Doku at June 12, 2020.

In line with advice from health experts, Ghanaian authorities have made the wearing of face masks mandatory. However, the cost of masks can be a barrier for some people, so the wind farm developers have stepped in to donate and distribute these reusable, FDA-approved masks to the host communities.

“As corporate citizens of Ningo-Prampram, it is our duty to help fight COVID-19 together,” Jennifer Boca, Head of Environmental, Social and Governance at Lekela, said from London. “While our personal movements are restricted by the coronavirus, Lekela stays committed to the Upwind project and the Ningo community.”

In receiving the gifts, the District Chief Executive, Honourable Jonathan Teye Doku, said “The COVID- 19 situation is challenging, so we highly appreciate the help of the developers of the Upwind Ayitepa and Konikablo Wind Farm projects. It is reassuring to know that these companies are invested in the health and education of our communities. We look forward to partnering with them to distribute the items equitably.”

Normally, NEK’s Community Liaison Officers would be going to households to educate people about the benefits of clean, renewable wind energy for the community. This time, they will be going around to distribute nose masks and sanitizers and educate households about the coronavirus.

Dr. Christoph Kapp, the CEO of NEK, said, “As the President of Ghana reminds us, these are not ordinary times. We at NEK must get creative to use what we have to get us all to overcome this pandemic.”

The wind farms at Konikablo and Ayitepa will bring an installed electrical capacity of more than 400 MW of clean, renewable, cheap and sustainable energy. Ghana will therefore play a pioneering role to be the leading West African country to switch from the predominance of thermal and conventional, out-dated energy generation systems to the generation of clean, affordable and reliable electricity based on renewable sources.

ENERCON GmbH is one of the largest and most modern manufacturers of wind turbines world-wide and the biggest wind turbine producer in Germany. Over the last 30 years, ENERCON has played a pioneering role in developing modern, efficient and reliable wind energy technologies. The company has installed almost 30,000 wind turbines with a total installed capacity in excess of 50 GW around the whole globe. www.enercon.de

Lekela Power B.V. is a renewable power generation company. Lekela delivers utility-scale projects which supply much-needed clean energy to communities across Africa, and focuses on taking projects from mid or late-stage development into long-term operation. Lekela has built a best-in- class platform that draws on its team members’ decades of experience to ensure to deliver sustainable, reliable and competitively-priced power. The current portfolio includes more than 1,300 megawatts across projects in Egypt, Ghana, Senegal and South Africa. www.lekela.com

NEK Umwelttechnik AG is an independent engineering and planning company that is headquartered in Switzerland. The company was founded 1989 as a private company. The main focus of NEK’s work is in the fields of wind energy, geothermal energy, renewable energy systems and development of sustainability concepts. NEK has carried out wind measurements and developed wind parks all over the world. Large successes have been the complete development of wind parks in Spain and Romania, which are producing energy since 2008 and 2012, respectively. The company has a subsidiary in Accra which has been active since 2003. www.nek.ch