“One key aim of government is to use energy to transform the economy as was done in China,” he said.Mr Togobo said this at a day’s conference on the China-Ghana South-South Co-operation on Renewable Energy Technology Transfer project in Accra on Friday.

He said it was no longer feasible for Ghana to rely only on hydro-electric power, adding that there were a number of minor power generation points all over the country, which could be utilised towards the attainment of socio-economic stability through energy efficiency.

Mr Togobo, said there were places that could not be linked with the national hydro-electric power generation grid, by virtue of their location.He said for such communities, other means of electricity generation such as solar lanterns and stand alone systems would be used for electricity power generation.

Mr Togobo said the good thing about the project was that China was not only sending in technology on other sources of electricity power generation to Ghana.“We are also learning from them, the knowledge and how to develop from our own resources, these power generation means,” he said.

Mr Togobo observed, that the project fell directly in line with government’s development agenda.“The government would assist the project in any form it could, when needed.”Mr Eric Antwi-Agyei, Project Co-ordinator, said through collaborative efforts between China and Ghana, the project had developed a comprehensive catalogue of Renewable Energy Technologies in China.

This catalogue, he said, was intended for private sector players in the renewable energy industry, requiring equipment and spares from reputable sources to develop their project.The catalogue seeks to address challenges faced by project developers and importers who had difficulty in establishing business contacts with manufacturers of quality products.

The China-Ghana South-South Co-operation on Renewable Energy Technology Transfer Project, a four year initiative lasting from 2014 to 2018, was established to facilitate exchange of expertise and technology transfer between China and Ghana.It forms part of the Denmark Government’s commitment to enable coherent cooperation between China and countries in Africa, with particular emphasis on the promotion of the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative. 

The conference was attended by representatives from the Chinese Embassy, Energy Commission, UN, Danish Embassy, Private Enterprises Foundation, UNDP, and the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of finance.