Government Seeks Spanish Assistance for Solar Systems

The government is seeking a 15 million- dollar Spanish facility to provide solar energy for the generation of electricity for clinics, schools, irrigation and water pumping systems in rural communities.

Mr. clement Abavana, National Co-ordinator of the Renewable Energy Services Project (RESPRO) of the Ministry of Energy who announced this at Tamale on Monday, said this was part of the government's initiative to develop and promote renewable solar power as an alternative to the traditional energy sources.

He was opening a five-day training workshop for 25 electrical contractors and electricians drawn from the Tamale Municipality and East Mamprusi District on the installation, service and maintenance of solar lighting systems.

The UN Global Environment Facility through the UNDP, sponsored the workshop which was organised by RESPRO.

Mr. Abavana said the project, which started in 1999 on a pilot basis in the East Mamprusi District has a three year phase ending in February next year. It will then spin off into a public sector company providing rural energy services using fee-for-service and other strategies of delivery.

He said the project was designed to address the need to find sustainable energy paths for social and economic development that could use renewable energy-based electricity and fuel supply technologies in place of fossil fuel-based electrification.

RESPRO is currently installing solar (Photovoltaic) systems in 13 communities in the east Mamprusi District and the success of this pilot effort would encourage the government to adopt such technologies on a wider scale at a later stage as part of its main rural electrification programme.

Mr. Abavana said RESPRO was currently operating a fee for service basis and as such, customers were not expected to make up-front payments for the solar systems, explaining that systems for homes, commercial or public such as water-pumping and clinics were installed and owned by RESPRO.

Mr. Abavana said with the expansion of the project into other districts the strategy for implementation would change so that persons and institutions that could afford outright purchase of the systems would be allowed to do so.

In addition, he said, new customers who would still want to be on the fee-for-service, would be required to engage the services of certified electricians to wire their premises for them as would be done if they were applying for conventional grid electricity supply.

Mr. Abavana urged the beneficiaries of the workshop to take the training seriously because their services would be sought in future for the installation of solar lighting systems for households and institutions in the rural communities.

Resource persons from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi facilitated the workshop.