Speaking on Eyewitness News, the consultant, Kwabena Nyanteh, however said it is too early to pat government on the back because no concrete plan is as yet being implemented.

[contextly_sidebar id=”u4DYrb9uvlyWdWFZFXlwwMe1kOFONBbT”]”It is too early to say it is game-changing. We want to see the policy implementation and monitor how it is being rolled out before saying it is game-changing. But on the whole, it is a policy directive in the right direction.”

He said it will rapidly increase the amount of electricity coming from renewable energy sources in line with the Renewable Energy Act passed by Parliament in 2012.

The Act is meant to provide for the development, management, utilization, sustainability and adequate supply of renewable energy for generation of heat and power.

The Solar Rooftop Programme is in line with the Ministry of Energy’s goal of increasing the penetration of renewable energy in the energy mix, and the promotion of distributed solar power for government and public buildings.

The project has been dubbed “Government Goes Solar”, to reduce Government’s expenditure on utilities, according to the 2018 Budget statement.

Earlier indications

The Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, had announced in March 2017 that a solar rooftop Programme by the Energy Commission was to be expanded to cover non-residential facilities including ministries, departments and agencies across the country.

He was speaking at the launch of a Solar PV System on a facility housing the offices of the German Development Cooperation (GTZ) in Accra last Friday.

The 16.64kWp system is one of the first grid-connected PV systems in Ghana with no battery back up under the net metering framework in the country.

Job creation

Aside from the energy benefits, Mr. Nyanteh said the programme “can easily be used to create thousands of jobs especially for our youth.”

“It needs a lot of manpower in installation and maintenance so you can train people in the installation process and all those things,” he explained.

Mr. Nyanteh further advised the government to carry out an energy audit to ensure efficiency in the execution of the programme.

The audit will give the government “a basis of how much electricity or how much solar power can be used in each of these buildings, and how much will probably be wasted. Then we have to take care of energy efficiency in these buildings before even installing solar,” he said.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Scandinavian country currently generates 40 percent of their total power output from wind, and is also targeting a rise in this total by 10 percent in the next ten years.

[contextly_sidebar id=”LtMVcthkeN9ma2tuSoLgXUA6ImMsIXYx”]Speaking to the host of the Citi Breakfast Show, Bernard Avle in Denmark, Hans Peter Slente admitted that, whilst it was impossible to say for certain how they would achieve their plan, it remains their central focus.

He added that they were on the “right path” and aim to become one of the world leaders in the use of renewable energy.

“It’s 2050, so nobody knows exactly how to get there, but it’s an ambition which drives the current green transition of our country which is on the right path, and at the right pace towards the end goal in 2050. We’re not there yet and we have to invest time, effort and money into achieving it. But it’s a trend that many countries in the world have embarked on. We would like to be part of it and in certain aspects be a leader in certain technologies and certain solutions,” he said.

“Nobody knows exactly how we’ll achieve it. There might be fossil fuel involved in the future, but we need to develop renewables very fast and to be more efficient with the energy we use to achieve the end goal of fossil independence by 2050.”

Hans Peter Slente spoke to Bernard Avle who was in the country at the invitation of the Danish government with three  other Ghanaian journalists, ahead of Danish Queen, Margrethe II’s visit to Ghana later in November.

The monarch, on her maiden trip to the West African nation, is expected to be accompanied by a large Danish business delegation within three focus sectors, namely food & agriculture, sustainability, maritime, infrastructure and railways.

Denmark has earned global repute for its environmentally-friendly policies which have helped it maintain a ‘green’ outlook despite its industrial prowess, something other countries have tried and failed to achieve.

Just under half of the country’s total electricity is generated from wind power, whilst the country also uses biofuels and biomass, something he describes as a crucial part of Denmark’s transition to a ‘green’ country.

“The trademark for Denmark might be the wind power as we see the windmills all over or many places in society. About 40% of the electricity generated and used in Denmark is from wind power. We’re aiming at 50% by 2020. Wind power is a very big factor, but also using biofuels, biomass from agriculture and forestry, municipal waste streams to put into furnaces, incinerate it and transform it into electricity and heat, which we also use a lot in Denmark. That is really a strong part of the great Danish green transition – the biomass we use is a big factor.”

He added that despite not being a tropical location, Denmark generates some amount of its electricity from solar power, and expects more growth in that area.

“We aren’t really sunny and hot as a country, but we have solar power in our energy mix. It’s not a big thing. We have solar for both electricity and heating, and though it’s less than 5%, we see that it’s growing and we expect it to grow even more.”

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Denmark uses 40% wind power, targets to cut fossil fuel by 2050 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

[contextly_sidebar id=”BQzFXxrihstwhyt8ng49joeuNOEY995e”]The move is also expected to drive down the high cost of power in the country.

At present, renewable energy accounts for only one percent of all installed capacity despite the enormous potential existing in the country.

The high initial cost has also been blamed for the low patronage of renewable energy sources.

But a Program Coordinator at the Energy Commission, Frederick Kenneth Appiah tells Citi Business News the right policies would also attract investors into the manufacturing sectors to reduce the burden on hydro electric power.

“Ghana’s access to electricity is among the highest across Africa since most of them are below sixty percent so there is also a potential market. As a result, we would like to use our country as a hub base to develop renewable energy technologies which could be deployed to our neighbouring countries or the regional market,” he stated.

Frederick Appiah was speaking ahead of Ghana’s participation in the Astana Expo in Kazakhstan between June and September this year.

The expo is among others expected to open up the existing opportunities to foreign investors to increase the country’s renewable energy capacity.

According to him, the country’s local content policy should also open up local companies to the opportunities in the renewable energy space.

“We currently have a local content policy which seeks to promote local participation in all these things which is very key; not that every time the foreign participation will be unmatched but I can team up with local investors and partner them to develop the sector.”

The Energy Commission has since embarked on a National Rooftop Solar Project to assist households that are opting for solar in meeting their power needs.

It is also against the backdrop that the cost per kilowatt hour for solar (11 cents) is cheaper than the cost of thermal per kilowatts hour.

“Government wants to meet you halfway by taking care of some of the cost so if it is hundred percent, the project is taking care of almost thirty percent,” Frederick Appiah further stressed.

The Expo is on the theme, “Future Energy” while Ghana is participating on the theme, “Ghana-Haven of Renewable Energy Resources”.

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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

The post Ghana woos investors for renewable energy production appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Agyarko said this would address the country’s huge sanitation and health problems, as well as create thousands of sustainable jobs, clean energy and improve healthy agriculture practice across the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”cArrMGa4yLoJew8UcuPO9IOmUZwf7JHX”]He made the call on Tuesday in a speech read on his behalf during the commissioning of the Safisana Waste to Energy Treatment Plant at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region.

The project is supported by the African Development Bank and the government of Netherlands.

He stated that such a decree must be supported with the needed investments from all related Ministries.

The Energy Minister announced that, his outfit would consider the allocation of at least 10 percent of financing facilities for rural electrification under the National Electrification Scheme to renewable energy-based mini-grids, and standalone solar home systems on islands, lakeside and sparsely populated communities nationwide.

He noted that, priority would be given to increasing local content and participation in the renewable energy sector, adding that waste-to-energy would also receive intervention in the National Renewable Energy Master Plan (NREMP), with massive boost through the legally binding commitment.

Mr. Agyarko gave the assurance that the government would continue with ongoing renewable energy projects by the previous administration particularly the 200,000 National Rooftop Solar Programme, the SECO funded mini-grids for the Ada-East District, and the AfDB off-grid project under GEDAP III, among others.

Households must have toilet facilities

Also at the programme, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, said the treatment of human excreta must start with the provision of toilet facilities for all households as according to him, about 75 per cent of households resort to open defecation.

Prof Frimpong-Boateng said it was about time separation of waste policies were enforced to ensure that organic raw materials were made available for treatment.

He gave the assurance that he would push for segregation of waste at the seat of government, ministries, departments and agencies.

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Source: GNA

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Mining companies have complained about the high cost of operating thermal power and the discomfort that comes with it.

Speaking to Citi Business News Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Dr. Tony Aubynn said the move is part of processes to reduce the burden on the national grid and reduce their cost of operation.

“Many of the companies are now looking at renewable energy sources because of the cost of thermal based energy resources. Most of them are looking at even their own generation as they mix with what is available from government so I believe that it will become part of their energy status. We are going to combine the renewable bit and in fact the chamber of mines is actively investigating that option,” he said.

It would be recalled that the Chamber of Mines early this year stated that mining companies would soon be resorting to renewable energy sources to meet their energy needs as part of processes to reduce burden on the national grid and reduce their cost of operation.

It followed the Energy Commission’s announcement of plans it has initiated plans to begin full implementation of the initiative before the end of the year.

The CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Sulemanu Konney also stated that the development will facilitate the processes to meet the country’s energy mix by 2020.

“Companies are actually considering it seriously before long we are to see the companies taking the commercial decision to actually get some of their power from renewable sources,” Mr. Konney stated.

The move was to further reduce pressure on the national grid.

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By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

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