Increasing access to energy services in rural areas - REEEP ...

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICYMAKING TRAINING MANUAL
page 10.74
4. CONCLUSION
The RESPRO project is arguably the most ambitious solar PV project in Ghana to
date. The number of installations that were completed in a relatively short period
of time is commendable, particularly considering the widely dispersed populations
in northern Ghana. However, it is unlikely that the project will be sustained in the
long term due to some of the problems outlined above. Some of these are summarized
below:
• High monthly cost to consumers;
• Insufficient resources for effective maintenance of systems;
• Low involvement of the private sector;
• Some of the equipment used had high failure rates, leading to higher maintenance
costs.
Of particular concern is the way in which the project competed with the National
Electrification Programme (NEP), instead of complementing it. Many potential
users did not get involved because they expected electricity to do more for them
than just lighting. They also believed that if they waited long enough, the NEP
would end up covering them.
In spite of these problems, there are several important lessons to be learned from
this project, including the mode of deployment (utility versus outright purchase),
the attitudes of rural populations to individual solar systems, and the importance
of maintenance in RET deployment. It is hoped that these lessons will be carried
into future large-scale projects.