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REPP loan kicks off solar project targeting church-owned properties in Ghana
Surveys to assess the suitability of over 900 church-owned properties in Ghana for rooftop solar panels will commence after REPP agreed to provide a US$290,000 development loan.
UK-based developer Greenheart AAAi (Ghana) Limited (Greenheart AAAi) is expected to complete the evaluations by mid-2021, before embarking on the installation of the photovoltaic (PV) panels on suitable rooftops.
The properties being assessed include cathedrals, churches, schools, hospitals and mission houses spread across five of the Ghanaian Catholic Church’s 20 dioceses.
Following the surveys, an additional US$1.42m long-term loan from REPP may be made available to complement Greenheart AAAi’s and its prospective project partner’s costs of installing the panels.
The project is intended as an effective solution for reducing the Church’s rapidly rising electricity bills, which have more than doubled in two years, as well as helping Ghana to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions as part of the Paris Agreement.
Once installed, the panels will have a combined generating capacity of 12.5MWp and will provide a clean and affordable alternative source of daytime power for air conditioners, lighting, water heaters and other appliances. The buildings will continue to rely on grid-supplied energy for night-time requirements and when daytime demand outstrips the rooftops’ supply capacity.
Greenheart AAAi is one of three companies or consortiums to be awarded contracts by the Catholic Church of Ghana to supply and install solar PV rooftop systems on its 2,700 buildings.
