Ghana plans renewable energy investment fund

Ghana’s Ministry of Energy and Green Transition is establishing a renewable energy investment and green transition fund.

According to reports from the state news agency, the fund will support investments in renewable energy and local deployment of green technologies, while reducing the burden of electricity tariffs on state-owned institutions.

Minister of Energy John Abdulai Jinapor said at the Sustainable Energy Policy Dialogue in Accra that a bill to establish a Renewable Energy Agency, which would oversee the fund, is undergoing technical review and will be submitted to the cabinet “very soon.”

Jinapor said the government plans to invest fossil fuel revenue into renewable energy, including residential solar installations and solar-powered streetlights.

“We will aggressively promote the use of electric charging vehicles, solar for irrigation facilities, providing solar systems for hospitals, public schools, including universities, and small and medium-scale enterprises, and support energy efficiency education,” he added.

Ghana wants to implement competitive procurement exercises for renewable energy projects to help reduce the cost of power. explained Jinapor. “We are already working with the World Bank, and we are confident that through competitive procurement of renewable energy and other energy sources, we can attain a much more reduced cost of power generation,” said the minister.

Figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) show that Ghana deployed 169 MW of solar by the end of 2023.