The Government of Ghana has signed an agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) and the Swiss Government Federation for a US$69.88 million grants to implement the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP).
Ghana’s Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, signed on behalf of the West African nation while the President of the AfDB Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and the Governor of Switzerland AfDB Group, Ambassador Dominique Paravicini, signed on behalf of the financing partners.
The agreement was signed in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the AfDB Group in Ghana.
It was witnessed by Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
The project has three main components: Mini-grid and stand-alone solar home systems for rural off-grid communities to be implemented by the Ministry of Energy, and the Net-metered solar PV systems for urban and peri-urban electricity consumers to be implemented by the Energy Commission.
Under the Agreement, about 6,890 households, 6,001 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and 6,890 public buildings will benefit from net-metered solar PV systems.
About 1,350 schools and 500 health centres in rural off-grid areas would also benefit from the project while seventy communities across nine island districts will also be electrified using renewable energy-based mini-grids systems.
The SREP is intended to contribute to the 10 per cent renewable energy penetration target by 2030, the carbon emission reduction target as well as the universal electricity access target which currently stands at 87.1 per cent.
The project is in line with the Government of Ghana’s energy policy targets set in the Renewable Energy Master Plan and climate obligation under the Paris Agreement.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com