A Solar power system, capable of supplying 4.2 kilowatt of power to small and medium-scale industries, has been inaugurated at Benkrom in the Kintampo North District of the Brong Ahafo Region.
The facility, which cost GH¢55,000 was jointly financed by the Pure Company Limited, an agro-processing factory at Benkrom and the Energy Commission (EC) as part of the first phase of a pilot project to provide a total of 25 kilowatt of power to institutions and residential facilities.
Inaugurating the facility, a board member of the Energy Commission, Dr Francis Dakura, said the commission was determined to increase allocation from its Energy Fund to upscale the solar project.
He further explained that by early next year, an advertisement on the project would be placed in the newspapers for interested individuals and corporate bodies to submit proposals for consideration.
According to Dr Dakura, Ghana was endowed with renewable energy resources such as solar wind, biomass, among others, which could be harnessed for electricity generation.
‘The rate of exploitation of these resources except biomass, however, has not seen any significant progress despite several years of support from government and development partners” he pointed out.
The board member said that the EC was taking proactive measures under Act, 541 of 1997 to ensure the accelerated development and utilisation of the country’s renewable energy resources including solar.
He stated that the commission had, therefore, completed assessment of renewable energy resources of the country, and observed that preliminary results indicated that solar and wind energy resources abound in the country saying, “the coastal zone of the country had favourable wind resources estimated at 300 megawatts which could be tapped for commercial production of electricity”.
The board member intimated that the major factor that had limited the development of renewable energy was the absence of requisite legislative framework to propel its adoption and application.
“In view of this, the Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy has developed the Renewable Energy Bill, which is receiving Cabinet’s approval after which it will be tabled before Parliament for passage into Renewable Energy Law”, he added
The Executive Director of Pure Company, Mr John Addaquaye said the company embraced the pilot solar project as a strategy to reduce the cost of power consumed.
He announced that the company intended to look at other alternative energy solutions such as using shea waste to generate heat and electricity, adding that his outfit would consult the Ghana Energy Commission.
The Executive Secretary of the EC, Mr Ofosu Ahenkorah, encouraged Ghanaians to consider using solar energy since only 67 percent of rural communities had access to electricity with the remaining 33 percent of them without the facility.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Kintampo North, Mr Philip Ankomah, expressed optimism that the project would help reduce unemployment among the youth in the area.
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