Accelerating Solar Action Program (ASAP) Ghana

The Accelerating Solar Action Program (ASAP) is a USD 31.57 million initiative implemented by Ecobank Ghana Limited to expand access to distributed Solar PV systems for households and MSMEs in Ghana. The program combines a USD 15 million loan from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) with USD 15 million from Ecobank to provide concessional term loans with tenors up to 7 years, addressing high upfront costs and restrictive commercial lending terms. ASAP aims to install 30.59 MW of capacity across 2,382 beneficiaries, including irrigation cooperatives, to reduce GHG emissions by 417,452 tCO2 eq over 25 years. Beyond financing, the program includes technical assistance for capacity building of bank officers, solar vendors, and Energy Commission staff, alongside advocacy to catalyze a national net-metering market.

• The ASAP program aims to install a total of 30.59 MW of distributed Solar PV capacity, which represents a 33.11% increase over Ghana's existing renewable energy installed capacity of 78.61 MW.
• The program is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 417,452 tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the 25-year lifetime of the installed solar systems.
• The total program cost is USD 31.57 million, consisting of a USD 15 million GCF loan blended with USD 15 million from Ecobank, a USD 790,030 GCF grant for technical assistance, and USD 787,500 for project management.
• ASAP targets 2,382 beneficiaries, specifically 1,617 households with monthly energy use between 300kWh and 600kWh and 765 MSMEs with electricity use above 600kWh, including irrigation cooperatives.
• The program addresses a critical financing gap where commercial loan interest rates in Ghana were as high as 38% as of 2023 and tenors typically did not exceed 3 years.
• The program includes a comprehensive capacity-building component to train 150 Ecobank loan officers, 250 solar PV vendors, and 10 Energy Commission engineers.
• The initiative is expected to create 1,794 jobs in the clean energy sector and specifically targets gender inclusion, with a goal that 50% of household beneficiaries be female-headed.
• The program's success is tied to the certification of approximately 160 solar PV vendors, who must have their products tested by the Ghana Standards Authority.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2024). Accelerating Solar Action Program (ASAP) Ghana. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp231-ecobank-ghana-limited-accelerating-solar-action-program-asap.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Accelerating Solar Action Program (ASAP) Ghana. 2024. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp231-ecobank-ghana-limited-accelerating-solar-action-program-asap.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Accelerating Solar Action Program (ASAP) Ghana |date=1 April 2024 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp231-ecobank-ghana-limited-accelerating-solar-action-program-asap.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2024accelerating, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Accelerating Solar Action Program (ASAP) Ghana}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp231-ecobank-ghana-limited-accelerating-solar-action-program-asap.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }