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Govt urged to push for renewable energy use in senior high schools

Govt urged to push for renewable energy use in senior high schools

Government is being encouraged to compel second cycle institutions to employ solar energy as part of efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuel.

The call according to non-governmental organization, 350 Ghana Reducing Our Carbon (G-ROC), will reduce the huge energy burden on the national grid that often results in an unstable power supply.

National coordinator of the NGO, Portia Adu-Mensah, says making senior high schools adopt renewable energy use will contribute to government’s effort to inject 10 per cent of clean energy in the national energy mix.

Portia Adu-Mensah

Image: Portia Adu-Mensah

“We believe that climate change is here as Obama said, it has come to say and we need to deal with it. We believe if senior high schools across the country can adopt renewable energy technologies like the solar and possibly move off the grid, it will go a long way to improving the expenditure cost on utilities and help in achieving government’s goal,” she said.

This will also help in promoting renewable energy contributing to an increase in renewable energy in the energy mix.

According to her, as a civil society organisation, 350-GROC is taking the education and sensitisation of renewable energy to deprived areas.

Miss Adu-Mensah says the organisation is looking at a time where people can go into it renewable energy especially solar and be able to produce excess and if they can afford, sell back to the state as the UK and some European countries are doing.

G-ROC SHS CAMPAIGN

The CSO is visiting senior high schools across the country to sensitise authorities to buy into the idea of solar-powered electricity as the best alternative for reliable power generation.

St. Louis SHS is one of the few schools that have adopted renewable energy technologies specifically solar panels which have contributed to supplementing their energy demand as well as reducing their cost of electricity bills.

350-GROC’s ongoing campaign on Renewable Energy has an aim to encourage and promote penetration of renewable energy in Ghana’s energy mix.

The activity which is dubbed “SHS goes Renewable” is organised to engage students, teachers and school authorities on some renewable energy technologies that can help them to become more energy efficient.

The meetings are organised with the notion that with an increased focus on putting an end to fossil fuels and achieve Sustainable Development Goals 7, it is imperative that the campaign for renewable energy for communities be multi-stakeholder based.

It is supported by identifying and engaging key stakeholders at the local level and exhibiting various technologies which schools and individuals can access and use.

Miss Adu-Mensah says the initiative served to orientate and invigorate effective participation of young people in the renewable energy advocacy.

The continuous effort for climate change mitigation, energy security and sustainable development prompted the call for the youth to be part of the campaign.

Participants are exposed to initiatives to help the schools become energy efficient and also provide them with the opportunities in the sector for them to explore to create sustainable livelihoods.

The recent Kumasi event held at St Louis SHS had students share their knowledge and experiences with renewable energy technologies. A call was also made to other schools to follow suit and adopt renewable energy to enable them to become energy efficient.

Assistant Headmistress for St Louis SHS, Regina Adu-Osei, says the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and some benevolent individuals supported the school with the panels and other equipment for the solar migration.

The school is currently saving GHS30,000 every month as electricity bills since migrating to the solar system in 2017.

“Such events are necessary for the youth to actively engage in the campaign for renewables," she said.

EFFORTS ON REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS

The objective of the meetings is focused on initiatives to end the use of fossil fuel.

350-GROC, a subsidiary of 350.org, is an informal network of youth groups formed with the aim of mobilising and empowering young people in partnership with key stakeholders to actively champion the need to reduce carbon emissions and promote renewable energy systems as a key effort in combating climate change.

350-GROC seeks to position itself as a strategic youth-led group in influencing and contributing to policies and programming on low carbon emission related issues.

One of the organisers of 350-GROC, Anna Lithur, says it is about time more entrepreneurs are encouraged to venture the solar business.

“We want more entrepreneurs to go into sales of renewable products at the same time government helping the entrepreneurs by reducing the taxes,” she said.

Her call is that government should create an environment to allowing investors to come into the country, and establish production plants, like a solar plant, locally

With this, it is expected that the cost of some of these renewable products will be much cheaper.

Original Story on: MyJoyOnline
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