By Iddi Yire
Accra, Mar 08, GNA – Cabinet has given the green light for the operationalisation of the Renewable Energy Investment Fund, to support investments in renewable energy, Mr John Abu Jinapor, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, has said.
He said the Fund seeks to deploy a lot of renewable energy, solar rooftops, EV charging stations, chargeable outboard motors, and more importantly, the deployment of solar streetlights, which would press or suppress the peak demand, thereby making huge savings so that they could continue to produce power.
“We also want to implement a raft of measures to contain expenditure within the energy sector, both petroleum and power,” Mr Jinapor stated at a press conference at the seat of Government in Accra.
“Consequently, we’ll be directing all the agencies to halt all kinds of expenditures that are not critical. And even those that are critical, they would need to seek permission before they proceed,” he said
“The sector is bleeding, and something must be done in order to curtail the bleeding.”
This, he said, would demand some very, very tough but necessary decisions.
He reiterated that the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition was determined to implement these systems.
With regards to the downstream petroleum sector, Mr Jinapor said the Cabinet had agreed that the Government ought to construct a second mooring system in Tama, known as a CBM.
“We have only one CBM, which is used to discharge both petrol and diesel. Demand has increased by 186 per cent since 2006, and yet we depend on only one mooring system, leading to huge demurrage costs, leading to huge challenges, and unreliable supply security,” the Minister said.
Mr Jinapor said the Cabinet immediately Cabinet had decided that they would construct the CBM, and that whatever challenges that arise, both legal and financial, they would engage all parties and address that.
He said the Government would also be constructing additional tankage in the West, which would be around Takoradi, so that they could have supply flexibility to serve the people of Ghana.
“Cabinet is also committed to ensuring that we involve private sector participation in the downstream distribution sector,” he said.
GNA
KOA