Just Energy Transition: GHANA RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY SCAN

This report by the Institute for Economic Justice scans Ghana's policy landscape regarding the energy transition, focusing on the integration of localisation, decent work, and gender inclusivity. It identifies a comprehensive energy policy regime but highlights significant gaps in industrial policy, SMME support, and the practical implementation of gender mainstreaming within renewable energy (RE) production networks.

• Ghana's National Energy Policy (NEP) 2021 aims to increase renewable energy (RE) in the national mix and promotes local manufacturing of RE technologies, requiring a minimum equity participation of 40% by indigenous Ghanaian companies for RE equipment manufacturers.
• The Renewable Energy Master Plan (REMP) 2019-2030 targets increasing RE generation from 42.5 MW in 2015 to 1,363.63 MW by 2030, with a total investment requirement of $5.6 billion, 80% of which is expected from the private sector.
• The National Energy Transition Framework (NETF) sets a roadmap for net-zero emissions by 2070 and projects the creation of 1.40 million jobs, with 52% of these expected to be in the construction and installation (C&I) subsectors.
• The National Energy Transition Investment Plan (NETIP) estimates a total investment requirement of $550 billion to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, projecting a net addition of 400,000 jobs.
• Ghana lacks a unified, comprehensive industrial policy, leading to fragmented efforts and inconsistent long-term planning for SMME development and industrial growth.
• The YouStart programme (2022-2025) aims to commit approximately GHS 10 billion to create at least one million jobs, with a specific target of at least 40% of these jobs for women.
• The National Green Jobs Strategy (NGJS) 2021-2025 focuses on creating decent green jobs through four pillars: policy alignment, skills development for youth, women, and PWDs, green enterprise promotion, and sustainable financing.
• Despite policy ambitions, Ghana's RE deployment has lagged; by the end of 2023, the installed capacity of solar PV was approximately 81MW, failing to meet the 130MWp target set for 2020 under the REMP.
• Gender mainstreaming in the energy sector is hindered by a lack of gender-disaggregated data and a shortage of women in managerial positions, which the National Energy Policy and REMP seek to address through STEM education and gender-based databases.
• The One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative, launched in 2017, has supported 232 projects, including 28 'Green Fields' (new factories) and 48 'Brown Fields' (existing factories), to promote import substitution and value addition.

APA

Ofori, C. G., Osman, M. S., & Djangba, R. M. (n.d.). Just Energy Transition: GHANA RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY SCAN. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ghana-Policy-Scan.pdf

Chicago

Ofori, Charles Gyamfi, Mohammed Saani Osman, and Rosa Monique Djangba. Just Energy Transition: GHANA RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY SCAN. Institute for Economic Justice, n.d. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ghana-Policy-Scan.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ofori |first1=Charles Gyamfi |last2=Osman |first2=Mohammed Saani |last3=Djangba |first3=Rosa Monique |title=Just Energy Transition: GHANA RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY SCAN |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ghana-Policy-Scan.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{oforindjust, author = {Ofori, Charles Gyamfi and Osman, Mohammed Saani and Djangba, Rosa Monique}, title = {{Just Energy Transition: GHANA RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY SCAN}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Ghana-Policy-Scan.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }