The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has committed to reducing Ghana’s power costs by transitioning from fuel-based power to solar energy if elected president.
He said Ghana has significant potential to harness solar energy for power generation.
In a discussion with the clergy in the Upper East region, he outlined his plan to introduce around 2000 megawatts of solar power within his first four years in office.
According to him, this capacity is nearly half of the country’s current power consumption and could cut power costs by at least 50%.
Additionally, the Vice President expressed his ambition for Ghana to start manufacturing solar panels and to become a supplier to other African nations.
“The next major objective for me is to bring down the cost of power, electricity. And how am I going to do it? I want to do it by shifting Ghana away from fuel-generated power to solar-generated power. I want us to move from fuel to solar.
“Solar is given to us by God for free. If we have to buy fuel we need foreign exchange and then we have to import. But solar we can harness it and generate power.”
“So I want us to bring 2000 megawatts in the first four years. That is about half our consumption in the first four years and we can reduce the cost of power by at least 50% if we move in this direction…I want Ghana to start manufacturing solar panels as well and then let us start supplying the rest of Africa with it,” he stated.
ALSO READ: