Ghana will develop 35 minigrids and stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) solar systems, an investment of more than $85 million, under agreements with the African Development Fund and the government of Switzerland.
The systems, with installed capacity of 67.5 MW, will serve schools, health centers and communities.
The project comes as the nation attempts to achieve the “last mile” of electrification, which is often the most expensive, said Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s finance minister.
About 87.13% of the nation now has access to electricity.
In total, the renewable energy systems are expected to have an annual electricity output of about 111,361 MWh that will mitigate 0.7795 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year and create up to 2,865 jobs during construction, of which 30% will target women and youth.
The minigrids represent a $40.29 million investment, and the solar net-metered projects $44.89 million.
The African Development Fund will finance $27.39 million, the Ghana government $16 million and the Swiss government $14 million. In addition, the African Development Bank Group leveraged concessional financing of $28.49 million.
The government of Switzerland financing will specifically support the scale up of Ghana’s existing net-metering program and deploy up to 12,000 units of roof-mounted net-metered solar PV systems for small and medium-sized enterprises and households.
What’s the difference between a minigrid and a microgrid? See our article “How the world defines microgrids and why you are confused”
“We are pleased to have reached another milestone in our cooperation with this wonderful country. We hope that, together, this project will bring sustainable and affordable electricity to over 6,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and almost 5,000 households, besides 1,100 public buildings,” said Swiss Ambassador Dominique Paravicini.
The news came from the African Development Bank Group, which recently held its annual meeting in Accra, Ghana. The theme of the meeting was “Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa.”
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