The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the government of Ghana have signed grant agreements for the funding of the country’s Mini Grid and Solar Photovoltaic Net Metering project.

According to the bank, the agreements, including $27.39 from the African Development Fund (ADF), will power 750 small enterprises, 400 schools, 200 health centres and the energy service systems in 100 communities in the Volta Lake region and northern region of Ghana.

It is understood that the project will also be supported with $16million from the Ghanaian government and $14 million from the government of Switzerland.

The agreements were signed during a short ceremony held on the sidelines of the AfDB group’s 2022 annual meetings in Accra, Ghana.

‘The Bank supports Ghana’s efforts in building resilience to the socio-economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic by providing electricity to health care centres, schools and island communities, currently without access to electricity services, thus enabling refrigeration of vaccines and testing facilities in these communities’, AfDB President, Akinwumi  Adesina, said in a statement.

The continental bank noted that the project will mitigate greenhouse emissions of 0.7795 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year and create up to 2,865 jobs during construction, of which 30 percent will target women and youth.

The renewable energy project is also expected to bring sustainable and affordable electricity to over 6,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and almost 5,000 households, besides 1,100 public buildings.

It is also understood that the project will support Ghana’s Covid-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (Ghana CARES) programme, which identifies the energy sector as an enabler of economic transformation.

Photo source: AfDB