IMPROVING LIGHTING SYSTEMS FOR NORTHERN REGION...The sun is the anwer (PAGE 35, DEC 21)

Of the twelve calendar months in a year, the Upper East Region enjoys only three or four months of rain.
The remaining nine or eight months are largely made of intense heat from the sun that is unfortunately not utilised as a source of energy.
It has been established that the systematic harnessing of solar energy can generate substantial amount of clean energy to power a lot of homes, offices and industry, instead of hydro power.
Ironically, in Ghana, the penetration rate of electricity in rural areas is said to be very low, particularly in rural off-grid communities where only between 15 and 17 per cent electricity coverage has been achieved.
The National Electrification Programme being implemented by the Government has an ambitious objective of achieving 100 per cent electrification coverage in the country by the year 2020.
The programme began in 1990 and is still ongoing.
In areas where economic activities are low and the cost of investing in grid electricity extension is high, the use of solar PV systems could be considered by the Government and the district assemblies to address the social and economic needs of communities and institutions operating in the socio-economic sectors such as in health and education.
It is to create awareness on the potential of solar energy that the Association of Ghana Solar Industries (AGSI) has organised a solar awareness workshop for stakeholders in Bolgatanga.
The Secretary of the association, Samuel Adu Asare, said his organisation’s advocacy was geared towards increasing the use of solar energy as a natural and more reliable energy resource in Ghana.
He said the reason was that, since 20 years of the Government’s attempt at promoting renewable energy use in Ghana to complement grid electricity, the penetration rate of solar energy in the country is still low and quite insignificant (0.01 per cent).
In spite of Ghana’s envious electrification rate of 67 per cent currently (which can be considered as the most electrified developing country in sub-Sahara Africa, second only to South Africa), Ghana’s economic productivity, however, is very low (indicated by a GDP per capita of USD$739.128 (2008) compared to some of the low electrified countries in Africa such as Botswana with 39 per cent electrification rate but has a GDP per capita of USD$7,554.24
He noted that although most of the main solar projects implemented by the Government through donor support were done in northern Ghana, an estimated 5,000 solar home systems mainly stand alone systems, and battery charging services had been implemented in the past with minimum success due to sustainability issues.z
He said, nevertheless, the lack of sustainability and continuity had been the main challenge which they were determined to address through the engagement of both the Government and the private sector in developing viable projects that are creditable and sustainable.
According to him, it was very difficult and expensive to extend hydro-electricity from the national grid to rural areas, hence the need for the Government and individuals to embrace solar energy as the appropriate source of electricity for the rural areas of the country.
A consultant to AGSI, Mr Frank Adabre, said solar energy had been identified as the best form of alternative source of energy, adding that in developed countries, solar energy had been embraced and adopted as their source of energy.
He said the advocacy action of the association was to get the district assemblies to address the issue of improving the livelihood situation of rural dwellers in northern Ghana, who were in dire need of improved lighting systems for socio-economic development.
“It is about time the Government and policy makers made it a decision to include the use of solar energy in their agenda, especially in off-grid areas,” he said.
He said already, the Sissala District in the Upper West Region, West Gonga and West Mamprusi in the Northern Region, as well as the Builsa District in the Upper East Region were beneficiaries of a pilot project being carried out with assistance from the World Bank to install small household solar systems at a subsidised cost.
Touching on some of the benefits to be derived from the use of solar PV systems, Mr Adu Asare said Solar PV systems could help improve vaccine preservation and promote immunisation programmes in remote communities.
In the area of education, he said, it could be used to enhance learning and promote the academic performance of school children, as well as promote the use of ICT and Internet browsing to facilitate research, business and communication.
The District Co-ordinating Director of the Talensi-Nabdam District in the Upper East Region, Mr Fuseini Alhassan, lauded the potential of the Solar PV systems and called on district assemblies in the country to start thinking of formulating policies in their medium-term development plans to promote and ensure deliberate investment in solar energy as a major source of electricity for areas that were far and difficult to reach with power from the national grid.
“That way, we will be ensuring that our people in the rural areas will benefit socially and economically, ” he stressed.