The government Ghana is developing 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy for industries as part of an attempt to reduce electricity costs and make Ghanaian manufacturers more competitive.
Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Sampson Ahi announced the plan at the 2026 Association of Ghana Industries Industrial Summit and Exhibition in Accra.
The proposed pipeline will target manufacturers, agro-processors and other energy-intensive businesses that have repeatedly identified electricity tariffs as a major constraint on production.
“It is our direct response to what the business community has repeatedly identified as its most pressing constraint,” Mr Ahi said.
The announcement is significant, but the government has not yet disclosed the individual projects making up the 1.5GW pipeline, their locations, expected tariffs or delivery timetable.
Industry waits for project details
A dedicated renewable energy supply could reduce operating costs and give factories greater certainty when planning production. Its effectiveness will depend on financing, grid access, storage arrangements and the prices businesses eventually pay.
Solar and wind generation are variable, meaning dependable industrial supply may require battery storage, backup generation or a mix of renewable technologies.
The scale of the plan is also substantial. Ghana currently has about 350 megawatts of installed renewable capacity, according to an earlier Energy Ministry.
Mr Ahi said affordable and stable power would help businesses invest, expand production and create jobs. The proposal responds to a long-running complaint from AGI members that high electricity costs weaken their ability to compete with imported goods.
The summit, held under the theme “Driving Sustainable Export-Led Growth through Energy Reliability and Digital Innovation,” opened on September 15.
Wider support for local production
Mr Ahi linked the energy plan to the government’s 24-hour economy programme, which is targeting about 1.7 million jobs over four years through continuous production, logistics and services.
He said the 24-hour Economy Authority and Ghana Local Value Addition Rebates would support processing and manufacturing companies through tax relief, fiscal incentives and duty-free machinery imports.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will remain central to that effort. Mr Ahi said they account for about 85% of manufacturing employment and 70% of Ghana’s economy.
Government support will include export development programmes, performance-based tax rebates, concessional financing, certification assistance and digital infrastructure.
Mr Ahi pointed to cocoa paste, processed milk, garments and light manufacturing as areas where Ghana already possesses production capacity.
“What remains is the will to scale it, the power to sustain it and the creative tools to accelerate it,” he said.
The 1.5GW proposal offers industry a sizeable promise. Businesses will now be looking for the harder details: which projects will be built, who will finance them, when power will become available and whether the final tariff will genuinely lower production costs.
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