General Overview
The total installed capacity for existing plants in Ghana is 5,134 Megawatt (MW), with a dependable capacity of 4,710 MW. Thermal generation accounts for the largest share of Ghana’s power generation, representing 66 percent, with hydro accounting for 33 percent. Ghana’s thermal power generation is fueled largely by natural gas, but occasionally using light crude oil and diesel. Ghana exports power to Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso.
The Government of Ghana remains heavily involved in the energy sector, with state entities having a controlling presence in the entire value chain. In the generation phase, the entire hydroelectricity component is controlled by the Volta River Authority (VRA) and Bui Power Authority (BPA), with VRA also involved in some aspects of thermal generation along with Independent Power Producers (IPP). State-owned Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) is still solely responsible for transmission throughout the entire country. The final leg, distribution, is mainly controlled by the state-owned entities Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO). A private entity, Enclave Power Company, plays a minor role in the distribution chain.
The electricity access rate stands at 86.63 percent (2021), with 50 percent of rural residents and 91 percent of urban residents connected to the electricity grid. Ghana’s energy sector has significant debt because of years of accumulated financial shortfalls from power pricing that does not recover full cost, although consumers consider tariffs as relatively high. Long delays in payments are a significant concern in the sector as the government pays for the subsidy from the national budget. Debt within the energy sector, coupled with the high cost of power in Ghana, creates a brake on Ghana’s economic development. Please consult the U.S. Embassy to better understand the status of existing PPAs and investment disputes in this area.
Improving power production and access to electricity is a major focus of the U.S. government’s efforts to facilitate economic growth in Ghana. Power Africa is a market-driven, U.S. Government-led public-private partnership aiming to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. It offers tools and resources to private sector entities to facilitate doing business in sub-Saharan Africa’s power sector. The Electrify Africa Act of 2015 institutionalized Power Africa. Learn more about the full Power Africa toolbox or other opportunities offered by Power Africa.
Since its inclusion in the U.S. government’s Power Africa initiative, Ghana has benefitted from the following:
- Transaction advisory support for gas and power, Beyond the Grid (energy access), feasibility studies, and risk mitigation instruments.
- Analysis of power sector finances, support for fiscal management, and capacity-building.
- Millennium Challenge Corporation reform of distribution utilities, demand-side management and energy efficiency, and regulatory assistance.
- Integrated resource and resilience planning and assistance for power grid stability to scale renewable energy.
Renewable Energy (RE) Subsector
Renewable energy sources are projected to generate an estimated 152-Gigawatt hour (GWh) of electrical energy at present. The renewable energy sources include grid connected solar RE farm at Bui, the embedded BXC and Meinergy solar plants and VRA’s facilities at Navrongo and Lawra/Kaleo. Further, in April 2023, Ghana lifted its moratorium on the issuance of wholesale electricity supply licenses for renewable energy embedded generation projects, a temporary suspension it had instituted in 2020. Industry players can now apply for licenses to develop renewable energy generation projects for private and own use. Renewable energy generation as of 2021 is represented below.
Table: Renewable Energy Generation
|
Generation Sources |
GWh |
|
VRA Solar (Navrongo) |
3 |
|
VRA Solar (Kaleo/Lawra) |
26.6 |
|
Bui Solar Farm |
68 |
|
BxC Solar |
27 |
|
Safisana |
0.7 |
|
Meinergy |
27 |
|
Total Renewable Supply |
152.3 |
Ghana published a Renewable Energy Master Plan in 2019 with the aim of achieving the following by 2030:
- Increase the proportion of renewable energy in the national energy generation mix from 42.5 MW in 2015 to 1,363.63 MW (with grid-connected systems totaling 1,094.63 MW).
- Increase the use of biomass for thermal energy applications.
- Provide renewable energy-based decentralized electrification options in 1,000 off-grid communities.
- Promote local content and local manufacturing and assembly in the renewable energy industry.
Opportunities
- It is projected that there is the need to procure an additional generation capacity of 225 MW by January 2024 and an additional 200 MW by January 2025 to preserve the security of supply in Ghana.
- There is a stated desire to add more renewable sources by harnessing wind power on the coast and establishing solar parks in appropriate areas. Ghana has shortlisted several companies to develop its nuclear power generation capacity. A decision is expected soon, and this will generate some activity within that sector.
- The government is developing incentives to attract manufacturers, assemblers, and other operators in this subsector.
According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), the following needs exist in the power sector:
- Street lighting
- Energy-monitoring equipment to better meet the increased requests for power monitoring and tariff analysis from industry in the country
- An alternative decentralized sustainable energy system that can easily be deployed in remote and deprived communities
- Solar vaccine refrigerators for the preservation of vaccines for child immunization programs in remote and off-grid parts of the country
- Solar energy systems to schools in off-grid communities
- New, higher quality and cost competitive energy services to low-income communities for cooking, transport, water heating and other home appliances
Additionally, please see Ghana’s commitments and initiatives related to the Conference of Parties on climate change and renewable energies in our market intelligence report.
Contact U.S. Commercial Service Ghana Commercial Specialist PaaEkow Quansah at Office.Accra@trade.gov or +233 (0) 30 274 1329 for more information on this sector.