March 31, USAID and the Association of Ghana Solar Industries (AGSI) held an industry breakfast meeting in Accra on Regulatory Issues and Challenges Facing the Renewable Energy Industry in Ghana with the Ministry of Energy (MoEn) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). It was sponsored by the Power Africa Transactions and Reforms Program. The exchange with MoEn centered on the government’s policies on renewable energy (RE) targets, urban rooftop solar, and isolated mini-grids and how they has limited private sector investment in these spaces. The GRA executives briefed AGSI’s members on the changes that Ghana is introducing to harmonize its tax and customs regime with the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, which is increasing the cost of solar power to un-electrified communities.  

Expected Result: Ghana is a leader in expanding electricity service to its population, but to achieve universal access by 2030 as it committed to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Seven it will have to accelerate the deployment of off-grid solutions, primarily enabled by solar power.