Ghana government urged to remove taxes on solar panels to enhance residential accessibility
Professor Christian Kwaku Amuzuvi, Head of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), has called on the government to remove all taxes on solar panels and accessories to help enhance affordability and drive Ghana’s green energy transition agenda.
He said removing the tax components would reduce the system-level costs, making residential solar panels significantly more accessible and drive the green energy transition in the country.
Prof. Amuzuvi, also the Chairman for the Governing Council of the Takoradi Technical University (TTU), made the call when he gave the 13th Professorial Inaugural Lecture of the UMaT, in Tarkwa.
It was on the topic: “Driving the Green Energy Transition: Translating Ghana’s LPG Adoption Model to Residential Rooftop Solar PV Systems.”
He said: “Ghana’s transition to decentralise its renewable electricity has been slow, compounded by chronic power shortages, and recent analysis in the Accra East Region reveals deficits of 8.33 per cent in the commercial sector, and 2.19 per cent in residential areas, with further shortfalls in special load tariffs.”
According to him, these figures underscored the urgent need for targeted interventions, and that solar PV systems presented a technically viable solution through structural reforms that made these systems affordable for every Ghanaian.
“It must be noted that not just engineering design determines the real affordability of residential solar PV systems in Ghana, but import duties, Valued Added Tax (VAT), and regulatory levies embedded in the supply chain,” Prof. Amuzuvi said.
He stated that removing all taxes on solar panels and accessories was the only way Ghanaians would embrace its use and help reduce the country’s carbon footprints.
He said: “The only way Ghana can make good use of a natural resource, which God has bestowed on us and endowed to us for free, is to embark vigorously on a National Residential Rooftop Solar PV Promotion Drive, as was done in the past by the adoption of the LPG model.”
Prof Amuzuvi added that the move would also boost the solar PV industry and create sustainable jobs for the engineering youth who were becoming increasingly frustrated.
Source: GNA
Image Source: GHANA BUSINESS NEWS
