Abstract for:Roadmap for universal electricity access and renewable energy targets in Ghana

Ghana’s electricity market remains unmet, and its universal electricity access and renewable energy targets for 2020 appears to be out of reach at the present annual electricity access rate. This is attributable to the low level of investment in the power sector, and the concentration of investment on conventional energy, particularly gas thermal power, at the expense of renewable energy alternatives. Using system dynamics modelling, this paper developed the Ghana Electricity Access (GELA) Model to investigate the trend of; investment in the power sector, national electricity access, and renewable energy share of the total energy mix in the power sector. The results show that Ghana would not achieve its dual energy targets by 2020, under the business-as-usual scenario. A policy mix that increases investment, and diversifies the investment in favour of solar energy could ensure the attainment of the dual energy goal by 2025. It is recommended that policy actions focus on incentivising independent power producers to invest in the electric power sector, and diversify the investment towards solar energy, to increase the renewables share of the power sector energy mix. Infrastructural and regulatory reforms are then necessary to boost private sector confidence and attract them to invest.