China boosts renewable energy presence in Ghana, Zambia

The China-Ghana / Zambia Renewable Energy Technology Transfer Match-making Event opened Dec 2 in Beijing. Officials from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and more than 40 private sector representatives from Africa and China attended the meeting to share experience on technology transfer.

At the event, participants from Ghana and Zambia discussed their countries’ need for renewable energy. While both countries have ample solar and wind resources, they lack the technology to make use of them. Meanwhile, China expressed willingness to cooperate. They agreed that Chinese companies could provide the technical assistance required to develop the resources.

Eric Kumi, the project coordinator of UNDP Ghana, said that the country could learn a lot from China, especially in areas such as energy policy, and that Ghana has taken steps to develop renewable power plants. But Kumi pointed out that there were still barriers, such as the high cost of financing. It’s still too expensive for locals to afford renewable energy products such as solar panels, he said.

However, Ghana’s abundant sunshine and biomass mean that renewable energy has a future in the country, according to Kumi. In his view, South-South Cooperation enables Ghana to learn how green power is developed in China and strengthens cultural exchanges between the two countries. Under the agreement, both Ghana and Zambia will import Chinese technology.

The event was co-hosted by the Energy Commission in Ghana, the Ministry of Energy in Zambia, the Ministry of Science and Technology in China as well as the UNDP Country Offices in Accra and Lusaka, Ghana and Zambia’s respective capitals, and Beijing. The main purpose of the project was to promote off-grid community-based electrification, renewable energy and Ghana and Zambia’s poverty alleviation.