Bill to make renewable energy 10% of Ghana’s energy mix for second reading in Parliament

A Bill, that seeks to support and promote the exploitation, development and the efficient management of renewable energy sources, is expected to be taken through a Second Reading in Parliament this week.

The Second Reading is where the merits and demerits of the Bill will be debated by Members of Parliament.

The Bill aims at increasing the percentage of renewable energy to about 10 per cent in the national energy mix. It will also regulate the fiscal regime and promote indigenous research and development to reduce the cost of renewable energy technologies.

Various clauses contained in the Bill include special requirement relating to licenses, requirements for electricity generation, establishment and management of renewable energy fund and the control and management of bio-fuel and wood-fuel.

A report of the Committee on Mines and Energy on the proposed Bill, Renewable Energy Bill 2011, stated that Clauses 41 to 44 of the Bill provide for the control and management of bio-fuel and empowers the Minister of Energy to designate bio-fuel as a petroleum product and place a duty on the National Petroleum Authority to determine the price of bio-fuel in accordance with the formula provided in Act 691.

“The Committee again was informed by officials of Energy Commission that the passage of the Bill will affirm government’s commitment towards the development, management and utilization of renewable energy sources.”

“The passage will also demonstrate the country’s commitment to global climate change mitigation as well as lending support for international environmental conventions such as the United Nations Framework for Climate Change, the International Renewable Energy Agency and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency amongst others and the associated benefits thereof,” the report added.

By Eunice Menka