<<Print>>

Ghana is making significant strides in the delivery of sustainable energy solutions to the people and to the West African energy market, the Energy Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The Ministry is, thus, pursuing a number of sustainable energy initiatives including renewable energy-based electrification for many communities, especially those on the islands and lakesides.

It is also enhancing the work of the private sector and encouraging public sector-led utility renewable energy projects.

“Today the Volta River Authority, with funding from KFW, is adding close to 20 megawatts of new solar generation capacity to its renewable energy portfolio, the intriguing part of this is where the project is located,” Mr Seth Agbeve, the Deputy Director in charge of Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy, said.

Mr Agbeve said this at the opening of the Seventh West African Clean Energy and Environment (WACEE) Trade Fair and Conference in Accra on behalf of the Sector Minister, Mr Peter John Amewu.

The three-day conference, on the theme: “WACEE Goes Greener” is organised by the Delegation of German Industry and Commence in Ghana (AHK).

Participants from mainly the West African Sub-region would engage in sessions to learn and debate on Energy, Water, and Circular Economy and come up with innovations.

Other outdoor activities including drone show, solar taxi rides, and exhibition of recycled and upcycled masterpieces.

The organisers said the WACEE was aiming at becoming Africa’s first plastic-free Conference and trade show with the view to using more sustainable packaging materials, limiting waste generation and maximizing resource recovery.

Mr Agbeve said the three main areas being discussed were critical as they were intertwined and could lead to sustaining the energy market in Ghana and in West Africa.

As part of the project, the Upper West Region would soon boast of having the first ever Utility Scale Renewable Energy generation plant in that part of the country, he said.

“Furthermore, when this project is completed, the Upper West will become the second region in Ghana with the largest installed solar capacity after the Central Region, which currently boasts of about 40 megawatts of installed solar capacity.”

This would improve the operation efficiency of utility and create opportunities for sustainable jobs for the economy.

Currently the national access to electrification stands at 85 per cent and it is believed that the current efforts would help achieve 100 per cent by 2025.

Mindful of the importance of the transmission infrastructure of the delivery of renewable energy in Ghana, Mr Agbeve said the Ministry was working assiduously to strengthen it and also interconnect with member states, where Ghana would play a leading role in the power industry.

The country is currently supplying energy to Burkina Faso while working with other partners in the Sahel Region of Mali and Niger to extend the transmission line and reinforce the existing ones to increase power supply to those countries.

Mr Christoph Retzlaff, the German Ambassador, said WACEE was bringing together stakeholders from business, politics, and civil societies the world over to engage with key players and explore investment opportunities and business partnerships.

He said German companies considered Ghana as an interesting and emerging market for successful business partnerships, especially with a lot of sunshine to help in solar energy investment.