Producers, transporters and exporters of charcoal in commercial quantities would from next month require special permit to lawfully operate, Mr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, Executive Secretary of Energy Commission, announced on Tuesday.
Mr Ahenkorah, who was speaking at a day's stakeholders' workshop organized by the Commission, said it had developed a "Permitting Manual" to ensure that standards of safety, reliability and quality in the renewable energy market were complied with.
The workshop under the theme "Dissemination of Permitting Manual for Renewable Energy Service Providers and Solar Energy Standards," was to ensure that standards on solar products, particularly solar modules developed jointly by the GSB and the Commission, regulate the quality of solar products produced or imported into the country.

He explained that the manual was also to provide guidelines to service providers to conduct environmentally sound businesses in the renewable energy industry.
The renewable energy industry includes the production and generation of electricity, heat, biofuel, manufacturing and assembling of renewable energy products as well as bulk transportation of renewable energy products such as charcoal.
"The document is very important and its provisions, if properly followed or implemented, would lead to the effective development and utilization of the country's renewable energy resources," the Executive Secretary of the Commission stressed.
He explained that the commission was acting in accordance with the 1997 Energy Commission Act 541, which mandated the Commission to licence and regulate technical operations of service providers in the energy sector.
Mr Ahenkorah disclosed that the management of Ghana Standards Board (GSB) in collaboration with the Commission had adopted the International Electrochemical Commission's (IEC) standards on solar modules to ensure that high quality solar components were either imported or produced in the country.
The IEC is the world's leading organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
He was optimistic the workshop would enhance the "forward march approach to promoting renewable energy development in the country".
Mr Andrew Tonto Barfour, Project Coordinator of Ghana Energy Development Project (GEDAP), regretted the influx of inferior products into the country and called for a regulation system to ensure that solar products imported adhered to basic quality standards.
He urged institutions to assist contractors accredited by the Commission to execute quality projects "to ensure effective development of the renewable energy sub-sector".
GEDAP is a project that seeks to assist government to improve the operational efficiency of the electricity distribution system in the country and to increase the population's access to electricity.
It is also to transition Ghana to a low-carbon economy through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.