The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the Public Sector Project (REEEPublic) of GIZ Ghana has held one of its key stakeholder engagements in Accra to present, discuss and validate 20 Action Groups under the proposed Public Facility Sustainable Energy Action Plan (PF-SEAP).
Together with GIZ, its partners, and other key stakeholders, the Ministry of Energy is in the process of laying out the PF-SEAP, which will spell out energy use in public facilities and the framework for sustainable energy investments in public facilities in Ghana.
Speaking to the media at the event, Mr. Seth Mahu, Head of Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy explained that the PF-SEAP, when implemented, will support the Government to accelerate the processes towards energy transition in Ghana. Additionally, the PF-SEAP will enhance the deployment of energy technologies and energy efficiency measures that would in the long run reduce the emission of Greenhouse gases and sustain Ghana’s economic development.
Above all, he hinted that the Action Plan will drive the Government of Ghana’s objective of recovering debt in the energy sector.
“The Plan will help the Government to address the fiscal imbalance in the energy sector as it tackles the energy consumption issues of the public sector and improves the revenues of our utilities, reducing the cost of electricity and also improving the governance structure of the sector,“ he added.
Mr. Benjamin Attigah, Project Manager for the REEEPublic Project – GIZ, also stressed that the PF-SEAP is a clarion call for an aggressive national commitment towards sustainable energy investments in public facilities through the collaborative effort of all stakeholders. The stakeholders were from academia, regulators, civil society organizations, private sectors, among others. By implication there has been a wider engagement and collaboration to ensure the success of the initiative.
He stated that “the REEEPublic Project – GIZ, with a strong belief, is focussed and committed to the finalization of the PF-SEAP to drive a paradigm shift in Ghana’s energy sector.”
According to Mr. Attigah, the Action Plan will significantly contribute to the up-scaling of Solar PV installations to about 1,150 public buildings and 50 water pumping stations under the first phase for a 5-year term in support of the “Government Goes Solar” (GGS) initiative.
Additionally, it is planned that 2,500 public facilities will undergo retrofits to become energy efficient to support the goals of Ghana’s Energy Sector Recovery Program (ESRP), he added.
The Long term expert for the GFA Consulting Group, Dr. Essel Ben Hagan, indicated that the sustainable energy actions under PF-SEAP are classified as: Legislative, Regulatory or Administrative Actions; Capacity Development Actions; Public Relation Actions as well as actions that will have a quantifiable amount of electricity savings which will be the key actions under the PF-SEAP.
The workshop, chaired by the Ministry of Energy, was attended by key sector players such as ECG, NEDCo, the Energy Commission, Ghana Standards Authority, Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Ghana Water Company Ltd, RCCs, Renewable Energy Association of Ghana, including development partners like the World Bank.
The 20 Action Groups and the activities under the PF-SEAP were declared validated. The next step is to expedite renewable energy and energy efficiency investments in Ghana when the Plan is finalized.
