Ever wondered why with these kilometers of windswept coastline, whispering of potential, Ghana remains stuck using traditional sources of energy for its energy mix?
As the country deals with intermittent power outages and the demand for electricity for its expanding economy grows, the answer to finding some sort of sustainable energy security, may just be blowing in the wind. Ghana’s 550-kilometer coastline represents not only a geographical coastal landscape, but would also implies to one of the most – untapped renewable energy resources on the continent of Africa.
While other countries in the region have boldly made their advances in wind power, Ghana’s capacity for wind energy remains nearly untouched, merely a thought – or a sleeping giant waiting to awake its potential (Energy Commission of Ghana, 2023).
The need to diversify Ghana’s energy mix has never been more apparent. As climate change is progressing; and ever since its discovery; after years of growing fossil fuel dependencies cannot continue, wind energy offers a solution: clean, and infinitely-renewable energy capable of taking Ghana from an energy-dependent nation for sustainable electricity production to a regional powerhouse for sustainable energy development through electricity generation.
This would provide an opportunity for Ghana to address and mitigate the climate change crisis; not only has this impulse for Ghanaic transition provided a solution for volunteers in energy access development, but aside from an environmental quest for space towards circularity, it provided incoming economic opportunities to generate thousands of jobs, increase foreign investment, and position Ghana to become West Africa’s renewable energy hub.
The Current Energy Sector: Challenges and Opportunities
Ghana’s current electricity generation capacity sits at approximately 5,134 mgwatts (GWh), with an actual availability of around 4,580 GWh (Energy Commission of Ghana, 2024). Ghana’s energy mix is composed of 60% thermal, 38% hydroelectric and 2% solar. Wind energy is at less than 0.1% of total installed capacity, and while Ghana has made great strides in achieving electricity coverage – 80.64%, 83.97% and 86.63% in 2020, 2021 and 2023 respectively – and has relative certainty of knowing who is ‘connected’, the system has quite a few weaknesses (Ghana Statistical Service, 2023).
Particularly, if not artistically, the periodic load shedding or ‘dumsor’ remains a significant issue for residential and industrial customers in total. The World Bank has estimated roughly $686 million dollars a year in lost potential production for businesses due to the interference of power, or about 1.8% of Gross Domestic Product (World Bank, 2022). The country has unique problems because of this reliance on hydroelectric sources, notably the Akosombo Dam, which has historically severely exposed and caused the potential disruption of Ghana’s climate catastrophe vulnerability related to periodic drought functions that severely affect generation.
The thermal plants have also been problematic, and they are able, of course, to provide the base load electricity that is needed by the electrical system. However, energy analysts had, for a number of years now, been warning of increasing price related to operational fuel capacity costs, shortfallsof supply, and environmental externality costs regarding, in this case, Greenhouse Gas emissions.
The West African Gas Pipeline was intended to be a source of natural gas from Nigeria for the country’s gas plants, but it has never been able to provide for the country sufficiently, so gas plants become highly susceptible, and the electricity supply and energy mix in general becomes intrinsically unstable (Ministry of Energy 2023).
This complicated context provides for both a need for action and an opportunity for action, and as Dr. Theophilus Acheampong, an energy economist at the University of Aberdeen expressed “Ghana, can no longer achieve energy security solely with conventional sources. “Diversification into renewables, especially wind given Ghana’s geography, is not an option but a necessity” (Acheampong, 2022).
The Untapped Wind Energy Resource in Ghana
Coastal Ghana has mean annual wind speeds of 6-7 m/s at 50m above the ground, at speeds long considered commercially viable for power generation (Renewable Energy Authority of Ghana, 2023), with the Greater Accra, Volta, and Central regions providing the best wind profiles for meeting this need. Some coastal areas have wind speeds exceeding 8 m/s for some months, and others that were reported consistent wind speeds above 8m/s during certain months.
From 2021-2023 the Energy Commission, with support from the Technical University of Denmark undertook a comprehensive wind resource assessment in Ghana. The assessment identified many sites with good wind energy potential, and especially cluster locations around the Ada, Keta, and Cape Coast areas (Energy Commission of Ghana, 2023). Data from the wind mapping assessment showed wind energy potential estimated between 500-1000 MW of wind energy capacity, and therefore, the potential for an annual wind energy supply of 1400-2800 GWh could be developed in Ghana in the next 10 years, which could supply approximately 1 million Ghanaian households.
In addition the implications of the finding above, Dr. Seth Mahu, Deputy Director Renewable Energy in the Ministry of Energy in Ghana said “The data supports what we have always thought- Ghana has worldclass wind resources that have been underutilized. If these resources are developed properly, it could change the energy landscape” (Ministry of Energy, 2024).
The economics of wind energy, is compelling today more than ever before (in the last 5 years). A report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found that the global weighted-average levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for onshore wind power fell by 35% from 2019 to 2024, making it more closely aligned with traditional generation sources (IRENA, 2023). For Ghana, this corresponds to potential generation costs between $0.05-$0.07 per kWh for new wind projects, comparable with, or lower than, many of the thermal alternatives currently operational.
Leading developments: Early Wind Projects in Ghana
While Ghana is in the early stages of developing its wind energy sector, there has been a number of positive developments in recent years. The most significant development was initiated in March 2022 with the Ayitepa Wind Farm project in the Greater Accra Region, which is being developed by Lekela Power. This 225 MW project is Ghana’s first utility-scale wind farm project developed, and it is expected to be developed in phases starting as early as late 2025 (NEK Ghana Ltd, 2022).
The project has over $350 million in project-financing from a consortium, which includes the African Development Bank for 250 MW, with the expectation of generating approximately 650 GWh of electricity per year, which is enough to power 400,000 Ghanaian homes. Further, it is expected that during construction the project will create 600 jobs and 30 permanent jobs during operations, with an associated annual mitigation of approximately 320,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions (African Development Bank, 2022).
In addition, smaller pilot projects have informed some promising results. The 5 MW Anloga wind installation (Volta Region), that was commissioned in 2022, has routinely exceeded generation expectations with average capacity factors of 42%, much higher than the global average of all onshore wind projects (Volta River Authority, 2022). As a result, the Anloga project has plans to expand to 20 MW by 2026.
As Professor Abeeku Brew-Hammond noted, the previous Chairman of the Energy Commission: “These early in-projects may appear small, but they serve as an important proof of concept. In addition to proving the technical viability of a larger-scale wind energy opportunity in Ghana, these projects further provide credible evidence observing the economic viability within the region” (Brew-Hammond, 2022).
Policy framework and investment climate
Ghana’s aspirations for renewable energy are underpinned by a developing policy framework. The Renewable Energy Act 2011 (Act 832), amended in 2020, set the legal foundation for renewable energy development by creating feed-in tariffs, and granting grid access to renewable generators.
The Renewable Energy Master Plan (REMP), shifted the paradigm with an ambitious target for 1,363 MW of renewable capacity (10% of total mix) by 2030, and 325 MW that is only from wind energy (Ministry of Energy, 2022).
Ghana’s most recent Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement includes a pledge to increase the renewable energy share of the national electricity mix to 20% by 2030, and incorporates specific measures to accelerate wind energy development (Environmental Protection Agency Ghana, 2023).
Importantly, Ghana’s renewable energy investment climate has vastly improved following Ghana’s ranking fifth on the continent in 2024’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) produced by Ernst & Young (Ernst & Young 2024). Some of the improvements include:
1. 2. 3. 4. The establishment of the Renewable Energy Authority in 2023 to act as a one-stop-shop for renewable energy investment. Competitive bidding for large-scale renewable projects has been introduced to replace the previous feed-in tariff regime.
Tax incentives including exemption from import duty for renewable energy equipment, and a five year tax holiday for developers. The provision of sovereign guarantees for power purchase agreements with the Electricity Company of Ghana.Dr. Lawrence Darkwah, Director of the Institute of Sustainable Energy at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, said: “The policy environment has changed a lot.
“Moving from feed-in tariffs to competitive auctions helped not only with cost reductions but also getting legitimate international developers,” (Darkwah, 2023).
Regional And Global Context: Learning from Success
Ghana’s vision for wind energy development must be framed in a larger regional and global context. Ghana has neighbours that have shown us the wind capacity increases that can occur in a short period of time. Morocco (1,400 MW of wind capacity), and Egypt (1,640 MW of installed wind capacity) (Global Wind Energy Council, 2024). Even closer to home, we watch Senegal commission West Africa’s largest wind farm, the 158 MW Taiba N’Diaye project in 2020, which is producing almost 15% of energy consumed in Senegal (IRENA, 2023).
There is a lot Ghana can learn from these success stories. Samuel Ayokunle, Regional Director for Africa Global Wind Energy Council said, “The greatest lesson learnt from successful wind markets across Africa is ensuring a policy certainty and a transparent procurement process. Where clear procurement processes and policy certainty exists. We can expect investments to come very rapidly, as we have seen in Morocco and South Africa”, (Ayokunle, 2024).
There also is plenty of reason to be positive in the global context. Innovation has led to increased efficiencies and lower costs and in fact modern turbines with hub heights of 100-140m can harness much stronger and consistently useful winds than the previous generations of turbines, to greatly increase energy yields in more moderate wind regimes constraining Ghana’s coastal regions (BloombergNEF, 2023).
Challenges Posed: Infrastructure and Investment Needs and Technical And Capacity Gaps
There are however many challenges still need to be overcome in Ghana’s wind ambitions. Of these, perhaps the most pressing are grid issues. Ghana currently has a transmission system that is managed by the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), which has serious inefficiencies and is in desperate need of upgrading to accommodate variable renewable energy technologies. GRIDCo’s current estimates for transmission investment is projected to be $1.5 billion to accommodate the wind capacity that the country was targeting for 2030 (GRIDCo, 2023).
Financing is also a major roadblock. Although wind projects are low cost to operate once built, the upfront capital costs are daunting. Investing in wind is capital intensive and a typical 100MW wind farm in Ghana would cost about $150-180 million in development costs – money that must be sourced in a very volatile currency and a high interest rate environment (PwC Ghana 2023).
There are also technical capacity issues to consider due to Ghana has a limited pool of people with experience in wind resource assessments, turbine technology, and ultimately being able to operate wind farms. Kwame Boakye, the President of the Ghana Institute of Engineers emphasized the lack of knowledge transfer saying “We require structured programs to advance local technical expertise.
We rely on international consultants which is costly and as a result limits the economic benefits domestically.” (Boakye, 2024).Finally, land acquisition and community engagement are both additional challenges. Wind farms require large land areas that may raise issues with displacement, and competing land uses. Ensuring effective community engagement and benefit-sharing programs is important in securing local support for projects (Environmental Protection Agency Ghana, 2023).
The Future Path: Suggestions for Rapid Development of Wind Energy
Hydro, thermal, and renewables make up the electricity generation mix of Ghana. Installed generation capacity, excluding embedded capacity as of November 2024, was 5,260 MW, and total dependable capacity was 4,856 MW. Since the entire energy mix amounts to approximately 5,260 MW, this makes it even more important to tap into Ghana’s wind energy potential, which is estimated to be over 5,500 MW, as a complementary and strategic source of electricity to power the country sustainably. Collaborate with other current and potential renewable energy project developers to create dedicated transmission corridors for renewable energy projects, particularly connecting high wind potential regions to major load centers. This type of investment by the Ghana
Grid Company should be a top priority in their transmission system expansion report, as a long-term necessity, possibly through Public-Private Partnerships.
The challenges and opportunities outlined above lead to a number of recommendations for accelerating wind energy development in Ghana.
1. Banding together with other current and potential renewable energy project developers to create specific transmission corridors for renewable energy projects, especially connecting areas with high wind potential to major load centers. This type of investment by the Ghana Grid Company should be first on their transmission system expansion report, as an investment into a long-term necessity, potentially through Public-Private Partnerships.
2. Feature a transparent auction process for wind capacity. Competitive bidding processes are well proven in other markets such as South Africa and Morocco to help drive prices down. The Renewable Energy Authority of Ghana should develop a schedule for auctioning off capacity regularly, and adopt well documented pre-allocation criteria for pre-qualification of developers so that quality developers can be attracted to the bidding process.
3. Innovative financing options are necessary to deal with the heavy capex. This could include Partial Risk Guarantees from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), green bonds issued on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) as well as blended finance for leveraging capital by using public funds to attract private funds.
4. Make a commitment to technical-capacity building partnerships between universities, post-secondary colleges and international wind companies – this capacity building effort needs to focus on training in wind resource assessment, project development and operations and maintenance.
5. Create community benefit agreements which guarantee that local communities benefit economically from wind energy projects, in land lease payments, local content requirements, community ownership share and community development trust funds, which can be created for developing community infrastructure.
As Dr. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, climate scientist with the University of Ghana stresses in conclusion, “Wind energy represents a triple win for Ghana at the same time for energy security,climate objectives, and economic development strategies. However, the window for Ghana’s energy future is not going to be open forever” (Klutse, 2024).
Conclusion: Wind Energy as a Sustainable Development Opportunity for Ghana
Ghana now finds itself at this energy crossroads and as the case for accelerated wind energy development grows stronger by the day. The convergence of natural resources, policy support and economic viability creates momentum to develop an entire clean energy industry.
Wind energy development does not just provide electricity for today, it is also perfectly placed against Ghana’s current sustainable development goals. It positions Ghana for climate action and reduced GHG emissions; energy security from reduced dependence on imported fuels; and an opportunity for economic development through jobs and industrial opportunities as it can be positioned as renewable energy leader in West Africa.
The next five years will be crucial for Ghana in capturing and using some or all of its wind energy resources. With the right action from government, the interest of the private sector, and support from development partners to work together, the answer to Ghana’s energy opportunities may literally be “blowing” in the wind, waiting to be captured.
References
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The author, Owura Yeboah is an Engineering Manager.
