The
drive, according to Rector, Prof. Nicholas Nsowah Nuamah, is to help reduce
energy poverty in rural and peri-urban areas through the provision of
affordable and readily accessible energy and allied services.
“We
are looking at new ways of providing energy to the people of Ghana and we
realize that the renewable energy is the best for Ghana, especially the rural
communities,” he noted.
The
Centre will harness the potentials of solar, wind, bioenergy and energy
efficiency as viable alternatives in the country’s energy mix.
Prof.
Nsowah Nuamah says the facility will particularly leverage on its investments
in solar-powered products which have been developed over the years. These include
solar cooker, solar motor bike and fufu pounding machine.
“We’ve
invested a lot in human resource and research and we have the competencies and
the ability to transfer knowledge to people,” he said.
The
Centre is expected to train 200 artisans and local businesses in the area of
renewable energy and energy efficiency at the end of the initial two year
project phase.
The
objective is to create jobs, contribute household income and national gross
domestic product (GDP).
Prof.
Nsowah Nuamah says entrepreneurship is an important component of training at
the centre, adding that a strategy for commercialization has been developed
under a project with COTVET and the Ministry of Science, Environment,
Technology and Innovation.
Majority
of residents in rural Ghana do not have access to the national grid.
Senior
Researcher at the Centre, Edem Bensah, says opportunities to disseminate the
available technology would be enhanced with the availability of funding.
“In
isolated communities, people usually live sometime below the poverty line and
funding becomes an issue but all these can be addressed with policy. We need a
very viable and workable national policy that would enable the technology
centres to disseminate whatever we develop to the people who need them,” he
stated.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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