PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
An RRA is a rapid assessment of how a country can increase readiness and overcome the main barriers to the deployment of renewable energy technologies. Put differently, it is intended to be a holistic assessment of conditions for renewable energy deployment in a country. The RRA comprised a process and a methodology that included completing a set of templates and a final report. The RRA methodology covered all forms of energy services (electricity, transport, heat and motive power), and all renewable energy sources. However, the Ghana study selected those of particular relevance, notably electricity, transport and heat.The RRA also employed strong country stake-holding as the process was designed to be conducted by national governments, allowing countries to obtain a comprehensive overview of the conditions for renewable energy from their own national perspective. All processes and documentation were led by the Ghana government through Ministry of Energy and Energy Commission and inputs derived from discussions with stakeholders, facilitated by KITE, the country consultant with the assistance of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The resulting output of the process was a Country RRA Report, owned by Ghana.
OBJECTIVES
The assessment was to help identify where action is needed to improve readiness; identify the partners and organizations that can help deliver these actions; and facilitate focused discussions with donors and other partners, based on securing buy-in to the set of actions developed. The assessment would also facilitate comparisons between countries and the case studies would highlight success stories in the region. The resulting output, the Country RRA Report, would enable IRENA to structure policy advice, with systematic guidelines for specific policy challenges and also create the architecture for the development of innovative policy tools.
OUTPUTS/ACHIEVEMENTS
The output of the process was a Renewables Readiness Assessment Report. A report based on a set of actions in key areas which when implemented, could have a significant impact on renewables deployment in Ghana in the short- to medium-term was developed. The RRA Report also includes a set of completed templates for each renewable application. These templates recorded the findings and recommendations from the RRA process.
The RRA process in Ghana was also an occasion to finalizing and disseminating the RRA methodology and process after the methodology and the process had been developed and tested during the pilot country missions in Senegal and Mozambique.