The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has appointed Ing. Dr David Ato Quansah a long-standing Fellow of the Centre as its new Director (effective 1st November 2023). Dr Quansah takes over from Prof Joseph Oppong Akowuah who now moves to the Department of Agriculture and Biosystems as its Head. The new Director holds a PhD in Renewable Energy from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) from where he conducted seminal research on long-term performance degradation in field-aged solar photovoltaic modules. He specializes in techno-economic assessment and performance monitoring of renewable energy technologies with particular focus on solar photovoltaic systems.
Dr Quansah comes to the position with over 13 years of experience in university teaching, research, and provision of consultancy services. He teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Sustainable and Alternate Energy Systems, Renewable Energy Project Analysis, Solar PV Technologies and other basic engineering courses.
He is a Guest Lecturer in Renewable Energy Systems Modelling and Analysis at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and provides services as External Examiner and Programme Moderator to a number of Universities in Africa and elsewhere.
He is a member of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), the Ghana Science Association and the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE).
He is also a certified expert in Climate and Renewable Energy Finance and additionally holds a number of professional development certifications in low-carbon development strategies and sustainable energy transition.
Dr Quansah has shared his knowledge and talent widely on various assignments and projects in Ghana and abroad. At the request of UNIDO and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), he led a consulting team (in 2010) to develop background documentation on the ECOWAS Solar Energy Initiative (ESEI), which was one of earliest efforts towards a harmonized Regional approach to harnessing the huge solar energy resource of the sub-region. In 2013, he served as consultant to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and ECREEE on the initiative on Promoting a Sustainable Market for Photovoltaic (PV) Systems in the ECOWAS Region (ProSPER) during which was an instructor on a series of training programmes for energy sector policy-makers and regulators from 15 West African countries on policies, regulatory frameworks and incentive schemes for promoting renewable energy technologies.
Dr Quansah also served as coordinating researcher and the Lead Author for Anglophone West Africa on the Regional study on Capacity Development Needs for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in ECOWAS member countries (commissioned by ECREEE).
He has continued to provide consulting and advisory services through the Centre to many other agencies, including USAID, World Bank, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the African Union, Natural Resources Canada, and the German International Cooperation agency (GIZ). He has worked with colleagues and teams to mobilize over US$11M in funding for research, capacity development and the deployment of pilot renewable energy systems.
As Director, he will be leading a network of highly qualified and talented academics and researchers at the College of Engineering KNUST and beyond to tackle national, continental, and global priorities in sustainable energy transition (and access) for economic development and human empowerment. Some of Dr Quansah’s scholarly works can be found here.