Commercial charcoal producers, exporters to obtain permit
Accra, June 16, Ghanadot/GNA -
Producers, transporters and exporters of charcoal in
commercial quantities would from next month require special
permit to lawfully operate, Mr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah,
Executive Secretary of Energy Commission, announced on
Tuesday.
Mr Ahenkorah, who was speaking at a day’s stakeholders’
workshop organized by the Commission, said it had developed
a “Permitting Manual” to ensure that standards of safety,
reliability and quality in the renewable energy market were
complied with.
The workshop under the theme “Dissemination of Permitting
Manual for Renewable Energy Service Providers and Solar
Energy Standards,” was to ensure that standards on solar
products, particularly solar modules developed jointly by
the GSB and the Commission, regulate the quality of solar
products produced or imported into the country.
He explained that the manual was also to provide guidelines
to service providers to conduct environmentally sound
businesses in the renewable energy industry.
The renewable energy industry includes the production and
generation of electricity, heat, biofuel, manufacturing and
assembling of renewable energy products as well as bulk
transportation of renewable energy products such as
charcoal.
“The document is very important and its provisions, if
properly followed or implemented, would lead to the
effective development and utilization of the country’s
renewable energy resources,” the Executive Secretary of the
Commission stressed.
He explained that the commission was acting in accordance
with the 1997 Energy Commission Act 541, which mandated the
Commission to licence and regulate technical operations of
service providers in the energy sector.
Mr Ahenkorah disclosed that the management of Ghana
Standards Board (GSB) in collaboration with the Commission
had adopted the International Electrochemical Commission’s (IEC)
standards on solar modules to ensure that high quality solar
components were either imported or produced in the country.
The IEC is the world's leading organization that prepares
and publishes international standards for all electrical,
electronic and related technologies.
He was optimistic the workshop would enhance the “forward
march approach to promoting renewable energy development in
the country”.
Mr Andrew Tonto Barfour, Project Coordinator of Ghana Energy
Development Project (GEDAP), regretted the influx of
inferior products into the country and called for a
regulation system to ensure that solar products imported
adhered to basic quality standards.
He urged institutions to assist contractors accredited by
the Commission to execute quality projects “to ensure
effective development of the renewable energy sub-sector”.
GEDAP is a project that seeks to assist government to
improve the operational efficiency of the electricity
distribution system in the country and to increase the
population's access to electricity.
It is also to transition Ghana to a low-carbon economy
through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
GNA
