In recent years, Ghana has made great advances when it comes to renewable energy and energy efficiency, and is seen as a role-model within the West African region.
The Government of Ghana has an unconditional emissions reduction target of 15 percent relative to a business-as-usual scenario by 2030, and a more ambitious target of 45 percent emissions reduction by 2030 conditional upon external support.
Solar PV has long been a priority and is known to have high potential for clean development impact in Ghana. Numerous efforts are underway, supported by the Government to increase uptake of Solar PV. However, affordable and accessible financing for households and SMEs remains a challenge.
BASE supported UNEP and the Government of Ghana to design a Green Climate Fund (GCF) proposal focussing on accelerating the uptake of solar energy in Ghana.
The GCF programme is designed to motivate investments in Solar PV systems for households and SMEs in Ghana with a total amount of expected investment of USD 43 million. The programme also includes a grant component to support technical assistance activities.
The financial strategy for the programme includes loans and a leasing mechanism for households and SMEs, as well as a sale-leaseback mechanism to support solar PV providers to offer SMEs and household small scale power-purchase agreements. These sectors represent a significant untapped market potential.
The programme is expected to result in over 1 million MW of low emissions energy generation, save 453 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the lifetime of the solar systems installed, reaching 2,383 household and SME beneficiaries, and creating 1,794 jobs in the clean energy sector.
The programme is expected to play a critical role in filling the long-term financing gap and mobilize funding from the private sector, providing necessary support to renewable energy investment projects unable to obtain suitable financing in the existing market.
The ASAP Ghana programme is also anticipated to have a flow-on effect within the ECOWAS region, as Ghana is seen as a leader and role model within the region when it comes to sustainable energy.
