Feed-in-tariff regime attracts investor interest

European investors have expressed great interest about the prospect of feed-in-tariffs in the country’s renewable energy sector introduced in the third quarter of this year.

The Head of the Energy and Environment Department of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana, Joachim Scheid, says his office has been inundated with questions from potential investors in relation to the legal requirements and how much it costs to build a solar PV plant etc.

Wind companies from Germany, Denmark, Netherlands and Spain have also signalled their readiness to take advantage of the new environment that the Ghanaian market offers.

Mr. Scheid was talking to B&FT about the impending West African Clean Energy and Environment Exhibition and Conference (WACEE ’13) slated for November 12-14 in Accra, and one of the highlights of the event is a Ghanaian-German Renewables Business Forum titled ‘Setting the Ground for Sustainable Energy Development’.

Joachim Scheid said companies from Germany are seeking local partners to train as technicians for the maintenance and construction of inputs for generating renewable energy. He said Germany has roughly 30,000 wind plants and 1 million solar plants on roof-tops spread across the country; and thus has competent technicians to install and maintain these equipments.

He observed that though the initial capital outlay is relatively high in the short-term, he said it is still the cheapest form of energy since the source of the energy is free. He even added that the maintenance cost per kilowatt/hour is the cheapest form of energy known. He quoted 25 euro cents per kilowatt as the cost in Germany and said industries paid a lower fee since they have the option to negotiate their prices between seven to eight euro cents.

Germany will be heavily represented at WACEE’ 13: the German participation consists of the German Federal State of North-Rhine Westphalia and individual German exhibitors. According Dominik Rzepka, Head of Marketing & Public relations with Fairtrade, a leading organiser of professional international trade fairs in emerging markets, WACEE’13 is hosting over 500 professionals from 27 countries who have already registered online.

This is the first time in the West African sub-region that organisers have launched an interactive Online Marketplace for WACEE’13 connecting buyers and sellers 24/7. The portal allows exhibitors and visitors to connect before, during and after the event.

The event (WACEE’13) enjoys official support from the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology; Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing; and the Metropolitan Assemblies.