Ghana Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in ghana, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Energy and Renewables
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General Overview

Ghana’s energy needs continue to grow. In 2025, projected electricity consumption is estimated to reach 25,836 GWh, representing a 4.7% increase in demand year-on-year. Hydro, thermal, and renewables constitute Ghana’s electricity generation mix. Installed generation capacity, excluding embedded capacity as of November 2024, was 5,260 MW, with a total dependable capacity of 4,856 MW.  Thermal generation accounts for 66% of Ghana’s power generation, and hydro account for 33%. Ghana’s thermal power generation is fueled largely by natural gas, but occasionally uses light crude oil and diesel. Ghana exports power to Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso. 

The Government of Ghana remains heavily involved in the energy sector, with state entities having a controlling presence in the value chain. In the generation phase, the entire hydroelectricity component is controlled by the Volta River Authority (VRA) and Bui Power Authority (BPA), with VRA also involved in some aspects of thermal generation along with Independent Power Producers (IPP). State-owned Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) is still solely responsible for transmission throughout the entire country. The final leg, distribution, is mainly controlled by the state-owned entities Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO). A private entity, Enclave Power Company, plays a minor role in the distribution chain.

In 2024, as part of its Rural Electrification Program, the Ghanaian Government connected 276 rural communities to the National Grid, increasing the access rate from 88.95% to 89.03%.  Ghana’s energy sector has significant debt because of years of accumulated financial shortfalls from power pricing that does not recover full cost, although residential and business electricity consumers consider tariffs to be high. Long delays in payments to power producers are a significant concern in the sector as the government pays for the subsidy from the national budget. Debt within the energy sector, coupled with the high cost of power in Ghana, creates a brake on Ghana’s economic development. Please consult the U.S. Embassy to better understand the status of existing PPAs and investment disputes in this area.  

Renewable Energy (RE) Subsector

Renewable energy sources are projected to generate an estimated 152-Gigawatt hour (GWh) of electrical energy at present. The renewable energy sources include grid connected solar RE farm at Bui, the embedded BXC and Meinergy solar plants and VRA’s facilities at Navrongo and Lawra/Kaleo. Further, in April 2023, Ghana lifted its moratorium on the issuance of wholesale electricity supply licenses for renewable energy embedded generation projects, a temporary suspension it had instituted in 2020. Industry players can now apply for licenses to develop renewable energy generation projects for private use. 

Opportunities

  • Continuing year-on-year growth in energy needs.   
  • Interest in the new Ghanaian Energy Ministry in additional solar power generation capacity, especially in Ghana’s north.
  • Ghana is working to finalize a small modular reactor project and adjoining industrial park with U.S. and other international partners. 

According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), the following needs exist in the power sector: 

  • Street lighting
  • Energy-monitoring equipment to better meet the increased requests for power monitoring and tariff analysis from industry in the country
  • An alternative decentralized sustainable energy system that can easily be deployed in remote and deprived communities
  • Solar vaccine refrigerators for the preservation of vaccines for child immunization programs in remote and off-grid parts of the country
  • Solar energy systems to schools in off-grid communities
  • New, higher quality and cost competitive energy services to low-income communities for cooking, transport, water heating and other home appliances
  • Additionally, please see Ghana’s commitments and initiatives related to the Conference of Parties on climate change and renewable energies in our market intelligence report.

Contact U.S. Commercial Service Ghana Commercial Specialist PaaEkow Quansah at Office.Accra@trade.gov or +233 (0) 30 274 1329 for more information on this sector. 

Resources

Ghana’s Energy Commission 
Ghanaian Ministry of Energy
Ghana Investment Promotion Center