By: Akosua Frema Frempong
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich, TUM in Germany has established a solar mini-grid at Yeboakrom in the Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The facility is to serve as a catalyst for community development and is expected to create and upgrade small-scale to medium local enterprises and create jobs for the community members.
This is in line with the project’s goal of conducting research and offering higher education in the area of sustainable energies and entrepreneurship to contribute to Goals 1, 8, and 11 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region has 45 communities in its jurisdiction. Forty-two communities are currently connected to the National Grid, whereas the Municipal Assembly is working to connect the remaining communities to a solar panel.
One of the communities is Yeboakrom, where the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich in Germany has facilitated the establishment of a solar mini-grid as a pilot, that is supplying electricity to the community and also ensure entrepreneurial and community development.
This is in line with the project’s goal of conducting research, offering higher education at the intersection of sustainable energies and entrepreneurship to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It was financed under the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD.
A community engagement has been held with the indegenes, who are mostly farmers, to conscientize them of the need to prepare to own the solar mini-grid to enhance its sustainability.
The Scientific Director of the project, Professor Rexford Assasie Oppong threw more light on the KNUST/Technical University of Munich collaboration.
“Since we were taegetting rural areas, we looked at communities that didn’t have electricity but produced a lot of crops to support Ghana economy. From within Ashanti Region, we did a pilot study and realised that there is this town as I indicated just about from the main Accra-Kumasi trunk road is three mins drive and from KNUST 36 Kilometres. They produce cocoa, plantain and all kinds of cash crops are produced here and yet they didn’t have electricity. So we approached the Municipal Assembly and in collaboration with them, we agreed to map out this area and decided to provide electricity.”
The solar mini-grid is expected to create and upgrade small-scale to medium local enterprises and create jobs for the community members.
The indegenes decribed the provision of the solar mini-grid at Yeboakrom as instrumental in the efforts to help provide electricity and economic development opportunities.
According to them, efforts to get the community connected to the National Grid did not yeild any results, though the distance from the nearest community which is Boamadumase is less than one kilometre, is already hooked to the National Grid.
The Regent of Yeboakrom, Nana Omane urged the indigenes to contribute towards sustaining the facility.
The Headmaster of Yeboakrom M/A Basic School, Bernard Kofi Gyimah said, “the introduction of the solar mini-grid has helped to reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy in the community.”
Some pupils in the Community expressed excitement to have electrictiy since it is impacting positively on their well-being.