Rooftop solar project gathers steam

Government has stepped up efforts to increase solar energy penetration in the country by initiating a “Capital Subsidy Scheme” that will see some 20, 000 rooftop solar systems installed in residential homes.

Under the scheme, selected applicants will be given a maximum of 500 watt peak solar panels free of charge, while they pay for the remainder depending on what their total need is.

According to the Energy Commission, which is spearheading the project, to be selected, the participant should have acquired and installed what is known as Balance of Systems – battery, inverter and charge controller.

Chairman of the commission’s board, Dr. Kwame Ampofo, told journalists at the launch of a promotional programme that several banks and other financial institutions have come on board to offer credit facilities to beneficiaries who may need further financial support to procure the balance of systems.

The commission, he said, has so far received 470 applications, with 397 of them coming from the Greater Accra Region and the rest spread across the country.

“It is worth noting that various promotional activities have been rolled out to whip up public interest in the programme and for everybody in the country to take advantage of it. One of such activities is a draw which will be conducted by the National Lottery Authority in all the 10 regions on different dates,” he said.

The government is targeting an initial total of 200,000 households for the rooftop project depending on availability of funds, and the hope is that it will help whip up the interest of the public in going solar on their own.

The move will mark a shift, albeit not entirely, from government’s initial focus on grid-connected solar or the situation wherein solar panels are put up on a large expanse of land and fed into the national electricity grid.

The initiative will also come as a relief to some actors in the energy sector, who saw or see the grid-connected approach as being relatively too expensive and wasteful of land.

Opponents of grid-connected solar argue that aside from increasing costs for consumers, it requires large tracts of land for the mounting of Photovoltaic (PV) panels.

When government leads the way by adopting the right policies, they argue, many Ghanaians will be willing to invest in filling their rooftops with solar panels and generating 20 to 30 percent of their power needs and reducing pressure on the national grid.

“Consider this: imagine that all the real estate companies that are springing up all over the place had incorporated solar energy into their projects; what do you think that would mean for us all?” said a source that pleaded anonymity.

“In Spain and other countries today, you cannot put up certain buildings without having rooftop solar as part of the project,” the source said.

“But what do we see here? You have luxury apartments coming up all over the place, and guess what; once it is available they will all draw their power hundred percent from the grid. This must change,” the source added.

Ghana Energy Statistics handbook launched

In a related development, the Energy Commission has launched a pocket-sided handbook that summarizes key energy data for the country and shows historic and projected energy demand trends under various energy growth scenarios.

It is meant to aid policy makers, researchers, the media, and students, among others, in their sourcing of energy sector information.

“The handbook and information contained therein must be considered as the true state of the energy economy of Ghana, that must be used as a reliable, official reference source to be quoted or referred to in all communications and academic/intellectual works relating to energy produced and consumed in the Ghanaian economy,” Chairman of the commission’s board, Dr Kwame Ampofo said at the launch.

The handbook, he said, is an addition to a series of useful publications the commission churns out for official and public use, in keeping with its mandate.

Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor who launched the booklet, lauded the commission for its “immense contribution” to the frantic search for solutions to the country’s energy challenges.

He further reiterated government’s commitment to transforming the country’s energy sector to support accelerated economic growth.