‘Learn from other countries’
The Executive Director of the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre, Dr Fred McBagonluri has said it is time for Ghana to learn from countries that have expertise in using renewable energy to augment power production. He said as the country moved towards integrating renewable energy into its power production, it was necessary to learn and adapt technologies from other renewable energy efficient countries.
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“We can learn from others and adapt technology for our realities. We can learn from the Swiss, the Danes and many other nations that are at the forefront of renewable energy,” he said.
He was speaking at the second edition of the renewable energy fair on the theme, “Renewable energy and energy efficiency: Accelerating energy access and security.”
He said it was time for the country to wean itself off the expediency of external solutions for its local problems and instead create constructive and stimulating collaborative environment for solution focused entrepreneurship.
“We can achieve this by looking beyond the traditional education systems and mindsets and garner new realities for national development, he said.
Conserving energy
The Minister of Power, Mr Seth Terkper, in a speech read on his behalf, said the role of energy efficiency and conservation are of utmost importance to the nation.
“It is in the light of this that the government has taken steps to retrofit public streetlights with high quality LED lamps, promote improved cooking technologies and the inclusion of LED retrofitting as key qualifying requirements for the 500 Watt capital subsidy of the ongoing 200,000 National Rooftop Solar Programme,” he said.
According to him, renewable energy was a sustainable option to ensure access to electricity services in off-grid communities that are not likely to be connected to the national electricity grid network in the foreseeable future.
He also said renewable energy had the potential to augment the nation’s generation capacity and once we have adequate reserve margin, intermittent technologies solar and wind can help stabilise the power situation.
“The systematic exploration and development of the country’s renewable energy resources will remain a major priority of government as this has the potential to reduce development cost and accelerate the process to provide cost-effective alternative energy sources to the costly conventional energy sources,” he said.
Mr Terkper also urged participants and visitors to see the fair as a unique opportunity to enter into long lasting business partnerships, market innovative solutions and exhibit cutting-edge technologies and research findings in the renewable energy space.
Energy Commission’s role
The Board Chairman of the Energy Commission, Dr Kwame Ampofo said the renewable energy fair was born out of the need to bridge the information gap that existed between industry and the desired market environment as envisaged in the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 814).
He said the organisation of the second one was a confirmation of the commission’s commitment to the promotion of the growth of the Renewable Energy market in Ghana.
“Our vision is to achieve a vibrant energy sector where renewable energy technologies form an integral and dominant part of our energy economy that enhances the sustainability of national development process,” he said.
He added, “the fair ,therefore, seeks to encourage all Ghanaians to buy into the idea of hooking up to renewable sources of energy, for a better, cleaner future.”
He also added that the Energy Commission, in collaboration with the Ministry of Power, has continued with its public sensitisation campaign on the need for the rapid deployment of renewable energy technologies and its widespread dissemination in Ghana.
“In this regard, the commission has launched the National Rooftop Solar Programme, a capital Subsidy Scheme under which free solar panels up to a maximum capacity of 500 Watts peak are provided to qualified beneficiaries in the residential sector,” he said. — GB