A national forum aimed at building consensus on practical steps to speed up the deployment of microgrids and mini-grids under Ghana’s electrification strategy was decentralised renewable energy, while addressing barriers to private sector participation and community ownership, held in Accra yesterday.

The gathering brought together key stakeholders to review progress, challenges and lessons from the Africa Energy Parks project, which is being implemented in selected island and hard-to-reach communities across the country.

Participants also examined policy, regulatory and financing frameworks needed to scale up decentralised renewable energy, while addressing barriers to private sector participation and community ownership. Discussions further explored how off-grid solutions could be fully integrated into national electrification planning.

Key issues on the table included the regulatory landscape for mini-grids and off-grid electrification, community engagement and social acceptance.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, said Africa’s energy transition was critical to shared prosperity and resilience against climate change, which he noted poses an existential threat. According to him, this underscored the country’s commitment to energy solutions that are technically sound, socially inclusive, economically empowering and environmentally responsible.

Dr Jinapor disclosed that Ghana’s electricity access rate currently stands at 89.03 per cent through the national grid. However, about 3.5 million people, mostly in remote rural, island and lakeside communities, still lack access or rely on expensive and polluting alternatives.

He acknowledged that extending the traditional national grid to such communities was capital-intensive and often economically unviable, hence the need to rethink how energy was planned, delivered and utilised — a key reason for convening the forum.

Microgrids and mini-grids, he emphasised, were central to Africa’s energy future as countries shift from centralised systems to power closer to the people. Powered by renewables such as solar, biomass combined heat and power (BCHP), battery storage and hybrid systems, they offer reliable electricity, cut emissions, reduce fossil fuel dependence and stimulate local economic growth towards achieving universal access by 2030.

The Minister said government, in collaboration with development partners, was championing decentralised renewables through the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP). So far, 35 solar mini-grids have been installed to serve more than 70,000 people in Volta Lake communities, powering homes, schools, clinics and businesses.

The Team Leader for Infrastructure and Sustainable Development at the Delegation of the European Union, Ms Paulina Rozycka, said the EU’s priorities align closely with Ghana’s quest to achieve universal electricity access. She described the Renewable Energy Park as a living demonstration of how off-grid electrification can be sustainable.

The Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, Mr William Amuna, commended the ministry and the EU for the partnership, noting that it would also help tackle deforestation and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.