The aspiring Member of Parliament for Dormaa East constituency, Paul Apraku Twum Barimah has described progress made by President Akufo Addo and the NPP government on renewable energy generation as excellent and unprecedented in the history of power generation in Ghana.
He acknowledged the excellent role being played by President Akufo Addo which has led to the powering of the Jubilee House, the Seat of government with solar power.
He said the entire Jubilee House — the seat of government has been powered with solar energy, an initiative that strongly shows the commitment and determination of the Akufo Addo government to promote the development of renewable energy.
Speaking to the New Crusading Guide newspaper in an exclusive interview, Mr Twum Barimah said the 912-kilowatt solar panel which was installed at the Presidency at a cost of US$1,494,350.00 to provide clean energy is a great initiative. He said this is already helping to reduce dependence on electricity from the national grid by not less than 60% in fulfilment of President Akufo-Addo’s promise when he was delivering the State of the Nation Address to Parliament last year.
“This great initiative forms part of government’s agenda towards inclusion of renewable energy in Ghana’s energy mix. This government believes in the importance of renewable energy.
Mr Twum Barimah also commended the Chief Executive officer of the Bui Power Authority, MR Fred Oware for taking some strategic initiative on renewable energy that are yielding great results.
He said the Bui power authority is in a process of completing the construction of a US$480 million solar power system by the end of December 2020. The solar farm is expected to add 250 megawatts of power to its existing 400 megawatts dam’s production capacity.
He further commended ENI Ghana for commencing some initiatives aimed at establishing renewable energy sites in Ghana. He believes this is the way to go especially when everyone is talking about climate change. “I am aware ENI has some agreement with Bui Power Authority Ghana and the Northern Development Authority in trying to establish some solar farms in Ghana.
According to Mr Twum Barimah the development of the solar power project is part of the government’s national determined contribution (NDC) towards the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCO)
“In terms of renewable energy development, regarding solar energy, wind energy and even powering our power plants with natural gas , the Akufo Addo, NPP government has done extremely well. Given, four more years to rule this great country, I am hopeful that the president will do more to increase power generation through renewable energy.
“The development of solar projects is in line with the government’s National Determined Contribution (NDC) towards the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) where it strives to adopt innovative and sustainable technologies within the renewable energy sphere to meet its commitment to the agreement.