Renewable Resources
With a population growth rate of 2.3% per year, the supply and distribution of drinking water and electricity has become a primary objective for the Ghanaian Government. An option identified by the Government to make more electricity available at affordable prices is to focus on renewable energy.
The Government of Ghana, is highly committed to developing policies and strategies for the development of renewable resources, such as biomass, solar (both stand-alone and grid connected photovoltaic systems), geothermal, hydroelectric and wind power. In 2011 the "Renewable Energy Act" was adopted and in 2015 the "Renewable Energy Program Investment Plan" announced investments for 230 million dollars.
In addition to these interventions, in 2017, President Akufa-Addo announced its intention to extend the "Renewable Energy Program" by increasing investments and adopting a subsidized tariff plan in order to encourage investors to undertake initiatives in the quality of private producers of power.
The Government has declared that by the year 2020, 10% of the energy produced will have to come from renewable sources that are complementary to the hydroelectric supply chain which includes photovoltaic, wind, biomass and waste, with the desired intervention of capital (and technology) from abroad. Currently, only 2 megawatt photovoltaic plant is operating in Punga, in the north-east of the country, managed by the Volta River Authority. Irradiation levels are quite favorable ranging from 1,800 to 3,000 days a year.
The use of photovoltaics should above all serve to cover locations isolated from the national network. These are the so-called "off-grid" systems for which substantial contributions are also made by the African Development Bank. In the wind chain there are some projects located along the coast of a Swiss and a Danish group. In the hydroelectric sector, the Ministry of Energy has identified 16 sites suitable for powering small and medium-sized power plants ranging from a minimum power of 17MW to a maximum of 95MW. Ghana has good potential for the production of energy from biomass linked to different agricultural productions (oil palm, sugar cane, cocoa) but at present, there are no significant projects in this sector. A further area of intervention concerning the introduction of sustainable and efficient wood fuels in substitution of the traditional use of wood and charcoal for domestic use (cooking, hot water, etc.) which in the overall energy balance of the country have a share preponderant (60%). Finally, the program aims at developing a biofuel supply chain to replace most of the fuels used for transportation and production of static energy (supply of pumps for agricultural irrigation and others).
