The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), in collaboration with the Energy Commission of Ghana, has commenced a five-day training and certification programme to support the selection and the establishment of Sustainable Energy Service Centres (SESCs) in two tertiary institutions.
The selected tertiary institutions will be provided with a Mobile Test Laboratory fully fitted with essential instruments for energy auditing.
In addition, they will be supported to initiate processes towards the development of business modules and operational manuals for the successful establishment and running of the Centres.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Communications and Outreach Unit of MiDA in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday.
It said the SESCs will help in capacity-building and also provide regular training for energy auditing.
“This initiative will support the country’s quest to reduce demand-side energy intensity of public and private facilities.
“This will enhance and also offer professional job prospects in the field of energy auditing, “it said.
The Centres rightly fit into the Government’s objectives of building the capacity of local professionals to serve not just the Ghanaian market but also our neighboring countries and the rest of the world,” Mr John Peter Amewu, the Energy Minister, said at the fifth Ghana Renewable Energy Fair and National Energy Symposium in Accra.
The SESC Activity is being implemented under the Compact II Programme’s Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management (EEDSM) Project and seeks to introduce initiatives aimed at ensuring energy efficiency and conservation in the use of the available power capacity.
The implementation of energy efficiency and demand-side management policies and investments present an opportunity for Ghanaian utility providers and consumers to make cost savings on power supply.
Estimates, according to a Report submitted by the Project Consultant, Development Environment Services Limited (DESL), suggest that the adoption of energy-efficient systems could save the country’s utility providers an estimated 4,000 GWh/year, which is over 30% of their current energy demands.
It is also estimated that energy efficiency behaviors could contribute to minimum peak load savings of 300 MW.
Ghana’s trained and qualified professionals will carry out Market Assessment Studies as well as provide Policy Advisory Services to Governmental bodies, including Regulators.
The professionals will also provide technical services to consumers for energy audit among other institutions participating in the Training and Certification Programme are: Accra Technical University in a Consortium with Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and Centre for Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CREEI)
The rest are Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Consortium with Sunyani Technical University (STU), Kumasi Technical University (KTU) and Energy Foundation (EF).
GNA