Every house in Ghana must go solar - Power Minister

Ghanaians can be assured of constant power supply if every house in the country goes solar to ease pressure on national power generation plants, the minister-designate for power has suggested.

Dr. Kwabena Donkor said at his vetting before the Appointment’s Committee of Parliament, Monday, incorporating “solar for basic lightening and [water] heating” in every household will help curb the perennial blackouts in Ghana.

He told the vetting panel his house is fully installed with solar that takes care of lighting and other basic electricity needs.

According to him, Ghana can no longer rely on hydro to power the country since “water levels (at the Akosombo Dam) are climate dependent.” He said Ghana has “exhausted” the use of hydro in electricity generation, and “we should be looking at other sources of power generation.”

Suggesting measures that could help put a stop to the erratic power supply in the young oil-producing nation, the MP for Pru East asserted that “we should look at the area of coal because 41% of global electricity generation is coal-based and we should be looking at renewables.”

For him, Ghana continues to face power crisis because “we have under-invested in equipment, human resources and going forward we have to attract the appropriate investment; can the public sector alone provide energy?”