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Clean Energy confab underway in Accra

The government is promoting a policy under which all houses will require an energy certificate to indicate they are energy efficient.

 

The certification of homes, which is part of a draft national housing policy, would be part of a home condition report akin to the road worthy certificate implemented by the transport sector.  The certificate would be inspected before houses are put up for sale or rented.

The Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, alhaji Collins Dauda made this known in a speech read on his behalf by the deputy, Mr. Vincent Oppong Asamoah.

The occasion was the opening of the second West African Clean Energy and Environment Exhibition and Conference 2013 (WACEE) in Accra.

The three-day event is being organised by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana (AHK) in collaboration with a German trade fair specialist, fairtrade.

The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) is supporting the event, while several Ghanaian ministries, sponsors and international institutions, including Energiebau and SMA Solar Technology and PwC sponsored the Business-to-Business (B2B) event which will have entry for its exhibition and conference free for all professionals from the industry. The Graphic Communications Group is also a partner.

Mr Dauda said the government would set up a local advisory service to provide free or low cost audits of homes and advice on measures to improve their energy efficiency and incorporate renewable energy options.

Sanitation and environment

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, said the ministry had prioritised environmental sanitation as a key area in promoting sustainable development.

“Indeed, waste management continues to be the most challenging in terms of cost and technology. Hence, the ministry is adopting strategies to ensure that appropriate and sustainable technologies are employed to add and convert waste to useful products, including waste to energy, compost and recycling of waste,” Mr Oppong-Fosu stated.

Both government functionaries commended the organisers of the exhibition, which focuses on resource and energy efficiency, as coming in handy at a time when the country was exploring better and efficient ways of managing its waste.

The acting German Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Thomas Wimmer, said Ghana was a forerunner in renewable energy in West Africa, as Germany was in Europe, hence, the partnership to organise the WACEE, especially coming at the back of high demand for renewable energy (RE) technology and products from the West African sub-region. 

Germany’s participation

Mr Wimmer said this year, as was in the previous year, German technology and presence would be strong at the fair with companies from the Federal State of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), an industrial state in Germany, exhibiting in their numbers.

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