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Tod Skinner of AEG International and Oheneba Ofori Boateng (right) signing the agreement, watched by Stephanie S. Sullivan, US Ambbadador to Ghana, and Mr. Francis Akuamoah Boateng, President of Strategic Security Systems. Image: DELLA RUSSEL OCLOO
The United States Agency for Trade and Development (USTDA) has approved the granting of a grant of US $ 950,000 for conducting feasibility studies on the production of Solar energy in six of the 20 dioceses of the Catholic Church in Ghana.
Feasibility studies, to be completed within six months, will provide technical and financial information for US-based AEG International LLC and its Ghanaian partners, Strategic Security Systems International, to begin construction. small scale solar systems at an estimated cost of $ 15 million.
The two companies will build small solar photovoltaic systems that will be badembled in Ghana using inverters, batteries and other solar power system equipment manufactured in the United States.
About 310 schools, 28 health facilities, as well as 500 other buildings and offices in the six dioceses of Keta-Akatsi, Tamale, Techiman, Koforidua, Kumasi and the Archdiocese of Accra will benefit from the solar project.
Long-term development
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Speaking at a signing ceremony in Kpone near Tema yesterday, US ambbadador to Ghana, Ms Stephanie S. Sullivan, said the project could significantly contribute to providing light to health professionals so that they can perform deliveries, as well as electricity needed for breathing apparatus and other electrical equipment used for storing vaccines and other important medications.
She described the initiative of the two companies as an excellent example of how Ghanaian companies could increase local content, create jobs and solve problems that are critical to the long-term development of the country.
Ms. Sullivan said the project was also an example of a value-for-money supply approach with a long-term vision. It offered Ghana an incredible opportunity to adapt to the use of solar energy because the sun abounded in the country.
"The United States and Ghana are each bringing something to the table to help improve the lives of thousands of people through this project, so that they can realize their potential and contribute to national development," he said. -she adds.
Catholic Church
The President of the Ghana Conference of Catholic Bishops, Philip Naameh, congratulated the US government and the USTDA for this grant and said that the motivation to move to a lighting system powered by the US Solar energy followed the desire to protect the environment by adopting climate-smart technology.
He called for an extension of the project to the remaining 14 dioceses of the church, adding that the goal was currently to ensure that the poorest people in the various dioceses become the primary beneficiaries of the project.
"Whenever the Catholic Church undertakes development projects, it is more concerned with the poorest of the poor, which explains our presence in strange areas where there is no development," he said. he declared.
Naameh therefore asked AEG to consider its prices in order to help the church to fulfill its commitment to the poor.
President of the AEG
AEG International president, Tod Skinner, said the project would benefit Ghanaians by bringing solar energy to schools, hospitals and clinics, among other things, and would make the project easier. creating jobs for the population.
Dr. Francis Akuamoah Boateng, President of Strategic Security Services, stressed the need for Ghana to act more quickly to harness solar energy for development.
"This project is not only an opportunity to show the world that Ghana and Africans do indeed have a vision for themselves, but also how mutually beneficial collaborations can and should look," he said.
Pending the results of the feasibility studies, the first phase of the project is to provide about six megawatts of solar power to 650 beneficiary institutions.
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