ADF, CIF & SECO supports Ghana mini-grid solar project with ~$70 million

The African Development Fund (ADF), which is the concessional lending arm of  the African Development Bank, has authorized a $27.39 million grant to Ghana for the development of renewable energy investment in the mini-grid and net metering space.

The project will be co-financed by the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) under its Renewable Energy Scale-up Program (SREP) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).  CIF and SECO will contribute $28.49 million and $13.30 million, respectively, to the project.

The funding will support the development of 35 mini-grids and include the installation of 12,000 units of rooftop net-metered solar PV systems for public institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and select households.

The project is expected to generate 111,361MWh of renewable energy annually, equivalent to a 67.5MW installed capacity, and to offset 0.7795 million tons of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions per year. It is also expected to create 2,865 jobs, 30% of which will be for women and youth.

The program complements Ghana's efforts to promote the deployment of renewable energy capacity and advances the country's aim of universal access to electricity for all inhabitants. This also supports the government's goal of achieving a 10% increase in renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Highlights of Ghana

GDP: $72.35 billion as at 2020

Population: 30.8 million as at 2021

Access to electricity: 84% as at 2019

Per Capita renewable electricity: 54.45% as at 2019