Research findings presented at the Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) annual workshop in Accra highlighted community land use in solar projects and the financial feasibility of biomass energy as potential pathways to support Ghana’s energy transition.
Natasha Ahadzitse, a research assistant at the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre, presented her team’s work on “Towards a Just Energy Transition: Community Participation Models in Solar Energy.” She explained that the study set out to examine how landowners in Ghana could use their lands as equity in solar energy projects.
“We wanted to understand if landowners wanted to use their lands as equity for solar energy projects, so we visited five sites with six operating solar energy systems in Yendi, Lawra, Kaleo, Bui, and Gomoa Onyadze,” Ahadzie said.
Her team found that land tenure practices and regulatory frameworks often disadvantage communities.
“From the findings, we realized that the practice of long-term leases, where people lease their lands for 50 years, receive a one lump-sum payment, and that’s the end until the lands are returned, limits community benefits. We also saw regulatory gaps, transparency deficits between developers and community members, power imbalances, and disputes over compensation,” she revealed.
To promote fairness, the study proposed three models: a community project model, a community shareholding model, and a hybrid model. These approaches, Ahadzie stressed, would ensure that “communities become active participants rather than passive beneficiaries in the transition process.”
The research was undertaken in collaboration with Prof. David Ato Quansah, Michael Osei Asibey, Godfred Badu Mills and Prof. Julia Tomei.
Another research highlight was on a study on the financial feasibility of a 30 MW biomass power plant in Ghana by Dr. Jerome Dela Lavie, a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.
“In Ghana, we generate about 39 megatonnes of crop waste annually, which we can convert into energy,” Dr. Lavie noted.
His team focused on the Ejura Sekyedumase District, identified as a hotspot for agricultural residue.
Using the FinPlan tool developed by CCG, the study showed that increasing production capacity would yield higher internal rates of return. Dr. Lavie called for government and financial institutions to provide low-interest financing for independent renewable energy producers. He also urged the enforcement of environmental regulations “to deter farmers from hoarding waste.”
Other notable presentations included research on policies for electric two- and three-wheelers in Ghana by Mr. Samuel Bekoe of CEDA, inequality and climate governance by Dr. Akwasi Adu-Poku, climate action progress by Dr. Joseph Essandoh-Yeddu, potential community green energy zones by Dr. Emmanuel Kwabena Marfo, and universal energy access challenges of remote and off-grid communities in Ghana by Prof. Eric Fosu.
The two-day event ended with a panel discussion on Green Hydrogen Energy in Ghana, led by Dr. Patrick Boakye.