Does Ghana Need to Look at Energy Storage for its Future Needs?
More research and investment should be focused on energy storage
“Deep Dives” is our weekly edition where we go deeper into a news story and examine it with more depth
Ghana’s energy sectors need a bit of spark.
Last year, it was reported that the government owes Independent Power Producers (IPPs) almost $2 billion in legacy debt.
The government pays fees to some of these IPPs to generate power for the country.
In 2024, Suogli shut down its plant over debts
The issue was later resolved when Ghana’s Ministry of Finance sent over emergency funds to re-activate the plant
Ghana’s energy sector continues to face challenges in the long term due to financial issues.
Ghana’s Current Energy Mix
As of 2023, Ghana’s electricity production is made up of Thermal, Hydro, and Solar:
Thermal: 66.8%
Hydro: 32.42%
Solar: 0.71%
Should Energy Storage Be More Mainstream?
According to figures published this week by solar PV and energy storage market consultancy Sunwiz, 2,468MWh of energy storage was deployed in Australia.
In 2023, African countries including Ghana signed up to become members of the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Consortium.
All members commit to participate in efforts to achieve 5 gigawatts (GW) energy storage commitments through the end of 2024.
Ghana has no concrete plan for energy storage yet
Prospects of Nuclear Power
Ghana has been speaking to vendors and partners about building nuclear facilities in the country to enable nuclear power by 2030.
Two potential sites have been vetted and selected for the building of the facilities
Ghana was going to announce vendors to build these facilities, but the timelines may have to be adjusted.
But: There have new updates that government is currently facing delays on naming a vendor for their nuclear plant
Looking Ahead
With a new government in place, the focus in the energy sector is on sustainability and debt repayment
In the incoming government’s manifesto, solar energy was mentioned but no concrete plan on how to expand solar has been outlined yet.