The Ministry of Energy is committed to developing a National Transition Plan to guide the country as it transitions to cleaner energy sources.

It is therefore employing various ways that can help the country transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy while ensuring economic growth and general well-being of our people, Dr Anim Adam Mohammed, Deputy Minister for Energy said in Ho yesterday.

He was speaking at a day’s stakeholder forum to seek the views and inputs of participants towards a successful implementation of the plan.

The forum brought together civil society organisations, Municipal/District Chief Executives, Volta River Authority, Environmental Protection Agency and Heads of Department and Agencies.

The Deputy Minister explained that Ghana was a signatory to the Paris Agreement, as well as other international protocols which required us to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2050.

That he said was the reason for the country to plan and strategise to move towards a low carbon economy while ensuring economic growth.

In anticipation of that, the Ministry had resolved that fossil fuels, particularly natural gas would continue to be part of Ghana’s energy mix.

He maintained that strategies would  be put in place to increase the share of renewable energy  mix in the medium to long term.

He noted that transitioning to cleaner energy over the few years would require substantial resources.

Dr Anim Adam Mohammed said currently about 70 per cent of Ghana’s installed power generation capacity of 5,231 megawatts was from thermal plants that used natural gas as their primary fuel.

“We will therefore leverage on revenues from our indigenous oil and gas resources to develop the renewable or cleaner energy the world advocates for,” he said.

The Minister assured that as envisaged by the Paris Agreement and other protocols, Ghana would continue to plan and aggressively develop and utilise cleaner energy resources such as solar, wind, hydro and nuclear among others.

The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, in his welcome address noted that the importance of energy in whatever form in the development of nations including Ghana could not be overemphasised.

Togbe Tepre Hodo IV, Paramount Chief of Anfoega Traditional Area and President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, who chaired the function expressed gratitude to the organisers for the honour done him to also express his views on behalf of chiefs when it came to energy issues.   

He said such stakeholder engagement would incorporate local perspectives and ideas to formulate a transition plan that is sustainable, locally appropriate and feasible to implement.