- The Ghanaian Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, proposes private sector inclusion in the West African energy development.
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Ghana’s Minister of Energy, has urged the private sector to deliver energy services in the West African nation. According to the minister, this involvement would close the development gap while also enhancing the social and economic wellbeing of the populace. In a speech that was read on his behalf at the Umoja renewable energy incubator tour yesterday in Accra, he remarked.
Serengeti Energy and Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN) have teamed up to create the Umoja incubator, which aims to provide prospective renewable energy developers in sub-Saharan Africa with the resources they need to access both commercial and technical knowledge and funding for their projects.
Even though 60% of the world’s finest solar resources are found on the continent, according to the minister, it still only accounts for 1.3% (8.7GWp) of the installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity worldwide.
“The development and use of these resources to improve the people’s socioeconomic wellbeing has not progressed satisfactorily. Considering the continent’s average annual population growth rate of 2.5%,” he added.
Prempeh stated that to reach Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 by 2030 with a commensurate $40 billion investment each year, approximately 90 million people must be linked every year for the following eight years.
According to Prempeh, private sector investments and innovations in renewable energy infrastructure are required to triple existing efforts if the blueprint is to be realized.