The Seventh Meeting of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Regional Committee for Africa opened in Accra on Wednesday with a call on African countries to scale up investments in solar energy to accelerate the continent's energy transition and sustainable development.The three-day meeting, attended by Ministers, development partners, private sector actors and international organisations, is discussing strategies to expand energy access, promote solar innovation and strengthen climate-resilient growth.Opening the meeting, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, and Chair of the Regional Committee for Africa, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, said expanding solar capacity was not only an environmental necessity but also a socio-economic opportunity to attract greater private capital," he stated.The Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi, said solar remained the least-cost and fastest path to expand energy access on the continent.
She observed that while the average African consumed about 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, consumption in the United States stood at 13,000.
She urged African governments to streamline licensing regimes and unlock tariffs to encourage private sector participation.The Ambassador of France to Ghana, Mr Jules Armand Beaussieux, reaffirmed France's support for renewable energy deployment in Africa, while the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Manish Gupta, said India's "One Sun, One World, One Grid" initiative aligned with Africa's energy transition ambitions.The Director-General of the ISA, Mr Ashish Khanna, said access to energy was a fundamental human right.
He explained that ISA's new strategy, "Moving from Ambition to Action", sought to mobilise investment, innovate financing and build local capacity to support member countries.Key announcements at the meeting included the signing of Country Partnership Frameworks between Ghana, Nigeria and The Gambia to support solar rooftop systems, community mini-grids and agriculture-driven applications.
