D5.2 Barriers and policy gaps to accelerating the green transition and energy access in Africa

The SESA – Smart Energy Solutions for Africa project, held its second Regional Event and Policy Dialogue in Accra, Ghana from the 9th to the 13th of October 2023. The event, hosted by SESA consortium member the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Econexus Ventures and Nastech Power Solutions offered insights into the successful implementation of SESA sustainable energy solutions in Accra and Kumasi (Ghana), specifically clean cooking solutions and off-grid solar technology, in addition to highlighting the importance of peer-to-peer exchange.

The event was supported by key partners within the SESA project, including ICLEI Africa, ICLEI Europe, Technical University Berlin (TUB), Smart Innovation Norway, F6S Innovation and the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative. 

In the event’s agenda, municipal stakeholders from across Africa, Europe and India were brought together for a policy dialogue and peer-to-peer exchange, opened by his excellency Irchad Razaaly, Ambassador of the European Union to Ghana, to identify barriers, business models, and policy gaps in energy technology solutions.  

The policy dialogue showcased the work pioneered by NASTECH (one of the winner SMEs from SESA’s First Call for Entrepreneurs, working on Second life battery solutions in Ghana) and Econexus Ventures (another SME winner from SESA’s First Call for Entrepreneurs, working on clean cooking). Both presentations were followed by a lively discussion on policy, social and technological barriers to the uptake of these technologies in Ghana.  

The presence of Dr. Robert Sogbadgi, Deputy Director, Power (Nuclear and Alternative Energy) from the Ministry of Energy in Ghana for the discussion offered the opportunity the SMEs a chance to directly address the Ministry and for many was an important component, making the policy dialogue a particularly valuable discussion. 

For Yogesh Mali, Executive Engineer for Pune Municipal Corporation (India), representing the UrbanShift project, it was useful to hear how the barriers to implementing second life battery technology are overcome, as they are like those faced in Pune. This opportunity for peer-to-peer exchange on renewable energy solutions follows a European exchange, which took place earlier this year in three cities: Cascais (Portugal), Barcelona (Spain), and Gothenburg (Sweden). 

In addition to the Policy Dialogue and peer-to-peer exchange, the agenda included a series of workshops on climate financing, business modelling, capacity-building, and official launching of sites using innovative energy solutions. The financing workshop focused on project development and how to unlock climate financing at the local level. During the interactive component of the workshop, officials from Ga North and Ashaiman Municipal Assemblies, both in Ghana, began co-developing a waste-to-energy project. 

The initial site visit in Accra was to Safisana, the first waste-to-energy facility in West Africa, featured an opportunity to see different sustainable business models with a focus on public-private partnerships. Following an introductory session and a comprehensive facility tour, participants engaged in reflective discussions on how to surmount the obstacles hindering the development of similar projects. A key takeaway was that partnerships and the role that local governments can and should play a proactive role in fostering connections to bolster waste management initiatives plays a significant role. This is of paramount importance given the escalating global waste crisis. 

For Maria-Elena Seeman, Public Manager for International Affairs, Partnerships & Urban Innovation, Alba Iulia (Romania), found the exchange offered an opportunity to see different business models that emphasise a sustainable future. “The Safisana Ashaiman waste to energy plant [business model] was inspiring in how a functional public private partnership can impact the sustainable socio-economic development of the local communities, and a good example that could be replicated in European cities,” she reflected. 

Micro-grid launch, in Bedabour – Photo by SESA partners

In Kumasi, the ensuing site visit marked the official launch of the Ghana Living Lab and showed concretely the efforts to implement smart energy solutions. Both site visits to the Nkawie and Toase Senior High schools launched the biofuel cooker, which demonstrated the clean cooking technology and the benefits of using such technology when compared to traditional cooking methods (especially firewood and charcoal).

The site visit to Bedabour launched the solar PV micro-grid system, and aimed not only launching the micro-grid, but in providing additional information to community members who were interested in learning about such systems and better understand the benefits that this micro-grid system can provide. These benefits include access to electricity to connect lights in their homes and the local school and running refrigeration systems at home. These benefits can impact the community’s day to day lives, as school children are now able to study, read and even play during the evenings under the lighting systems, and community members to be able to sell small items, such as cool drinks and fresh foods.  

Following the launch, the regional event’s final day focused on capacity building and brought city officials and Living Lab representatives together to discuss why and how to build a strong impact measurement framework. The capacity building workshop gave voice to the SMEs and the challenges and opportunities they face with implementation. AAMUSTED supported by Nastech, highlighted routine operation and maintenance of solar PV systems as essential for the success and longevity of the system after installation. Econexus Ventures presented the adverse health effects which their clean biofuel addresses and but the need for related to social, economic, and policy barriers remain. Taking Ghana as a concrete case, the participants brainstormed different dimensions of the smart energy solutions implemented and the KPIs that have been identified to measure their positive effect. 

Capacity building workshop session at AAMUSTED – Photo by SESA partners

In the event’s conclusion, SESA Coordinator, Magdalena Sikorowska, ICLEI Europe reflected on the value of such exchanges, shared, “Implementing smart energy solutions directly impacts and improves the quality of life– not only of community members or school staff. It benefits future generations, especially kids that bring these ideas home. Moreover, young innovators require a favourable regulatory framework and financial support for further deployment of sustainable energy solutions on the ground. Regional events such as this bring together experts to exchange best practices, identify barriers to implementation and work towards a sustainable energy future.“ 

Launching of the biofuel cooker at Toase Secondary School – Photo by SESA partners

Accra, 10 October 2023 – The Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) project, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme from the European Commission, is pleased to announce the Second Regional Event and Policy Dialogue in Accra, Ghana from the 9th to the 13th of October 2023. 

The project aimed at providing energy access technologies and business models for sustainable development in Africa. The SESA consortium commitment to engaging with regional authorities, local authorities and citizens takes centre stage in this event, hosted by the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED, Kumasi), consortium member of the SESA project. It is as well supported by key partners within the SESA project such as ICLEI Africa, ICLEI Europe, Technical University Berlin (TUB), Smart Innovation Norway, and the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative.  

The event offers a unique opportunity for participants to engage in knowledge sharing, discuss challenges, and explore best practices with representatives from the European Commission and various African countries. The event will also provide insights into the successful implementation of SESA sustainable energy solutions in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana.  

Acting as an integral element of the SESA project, the Second Regional Event and Policy Dialogue workshops form part of the Regional Capacity Building in West Africa, North Africa, East Africa, and South Africa. The capacity building aims to integrate and scale up proven technologies and business models for sustainable energy solutions nationally and locally. In Ghana, the project collaborates with stakeholders to identify barriers and policy gaps in energy technology solutions. This analysis will guide refined policy recommendations and the scaling of technologies into innovative business models for sustainable energy. 

The agenda includes various workshops such as incubator for the beneficiary start-ups from the SESA Call for Entrepreneurs, an open session about peer-to-peer exchange between European cities and African cities complemented by a climate finance insights session, the peer-to-peer exchange in Kumasi and capacity building. Furthermore, the agenda features an official Energy Policy Dialogue opened by the Ambassador of the European Union, a site visit and launching of innovative energy projects at Nkawie, Kumasi.  

The EU Ambassador shared a forward-looking message: “Investing in research and innovation is investing in our future. It improves the daily lives of millions of people here in Ghana, in Europe and around the world, helping to solve some of our biggest societal challenges. Imagine if tomorrow we can use in Ghana the increasing stockpile of retired batteries for new solar panel installations. It could mean cheaper installation, but above all it will means less e-waste. Together, government, companies, universities and donors, European Union and Africa we are capable to win the fight against climate change.” 

“Implementing smart energy solutions lies at the nexus of technology, business models, and policy that works at the local and national level. Regional events such as this bring together experts to exchange best practices, identify barriers to implementation and work towards a sustainable energy future.” Magdalena Sikorowska, SESA Project Coordinator, ICLEI Europe. 

From 8-13 May, SESA hosted the European Study Programme in three cities across Europe – Cascais (Portugal), Barcelona (Spain), and Gothenburg (Sweden). Organised by ICLEI Europe, the European Study Programme is the first part of the peer-to-peer exchange and took representatives from Living Labs from eight of the SESA countries to Europe.

The programme allowed the delegation to visit these three cities with the objective of learning more about smart energy solution technologies and their deployment in a different context. It offered as well, the opportunity to exchange with European cities and businesses on the possible ways of cooperating with a large ecosystem of actors including private sector, public sector, academia and the local communities. The ultimate goal of the study programme was to provide participants with the opportunity to learn from a wide range of experiences, which could help inspire possible developments of the Living Labs and support in their further development.

Beginning in Cascais (Portugal) from 8-9 May, the delegation met with João Dinis, Head of Climate Action Department at Cascais Ambiente to discuss the city’s approach to reach climate neutrality and the role that renewable energy solutions play in this ambition. Examples of climate mitigation measures included Cascais SDG 2030 and the city’s Carbon Neutrality Route 2050, the first municipal commitment to carbon neutrality following the country’s commitment to climate change. The delegation had the opportunity to visit sites employing these policies in action at the NOVA School Business of Economics as well as around the city.

Key to Cascais’s success here has not only been the technologies themselves, but rather a focus on community engagement. In the city’s Action Plan for Climate Adaptation, the number one measure focused on creating stakeholder awareness and the challenges faced in Cascais in implementing renewable energy solutions are not unlike those faced in SESA’s living labs.

For Edem Foli, Programme Manager at Nelson Mandela University: uYilo e-Mobility Programme, such exchanges drew parallels to her own experience in South Africa. “Engaging with community stakeholders is so important in getting your project off the ground. I was very surprised and relieved to learn that local governments in Barcelona and Cascais are facing similar challenges, getting buy-in from the community to accept these new technologies and convincing them of their advantages, in both an economic and social respect. This study programme created the opportunity to exchange with my peers, both in Europe and Africa in developing strategies to address this challenge.”

 This sentiment was echoed by Ibtihal Ait Abdelmoula, Research and Development Engineer, Head of Digitalization at Green Energy Park in Morocco, “The carbon neutral smart city was not a concept only discussed in technological and research centres but also a real practical roadmap adopted by local municipalities and citizens. I believe that this is the main challenge that we need to overcome in our African living labs. Technology is not the issue. What we really need to improve is the local engagement of communities and stakeholders. I believe that Africa is actively working on that and is on its way to unlock its full potential.”

From 10-11 May, the delegation moved on to Barcelona (Spain) where they met with SESA project partner, LEITAT, one of the leading technology management entities at the Spanish and European level, working closely with SESA’s Ghanaian living lab developing waste to energy solutions. This was complemented by a visit to Vallès Circular, a centre at the forefront of processes for transformation and evolution towards a more sustainable economic model which promotes public-private collaboration and focuses circular economic principles, transforming waste into energy.

This part of the study programme put a focus on the technology and its relation to the circular economy, which opened discussions around what makes for a sustainable economic model and how to meaningfully engage in public-private partnerships. The delegation also had the opportunity to meet with the Municipality of Barcelona to learn and discuss how, for example, the city engages with the private sector to help accelerate the city’s energy transition.

The final stop in the study programme brought the delegation north to Gothenburg (Sweden), a city whose innovative renewable energy solutions are most notably related to its district heating system. Here, discussions with Gothenburg’s Climate Transition Office, the city’s energy company, Göteborg Energi, and Johanneberg Science Park (JSP) revealed how the city is approaching the current energy transition from a municipal, business, and research perspective. Bringing innovative technologies into focus, the programme then had the opportunity to move onto JSP’s HSB Living Lab, a sustainable housing system.

The living lab is a great example of collaboration between industry, the city, and academia that tests smart energy solutions in a real context and in doing so, helps accelerate the energy transition. The final element of the time spent in Gothenburg focused on synergies drawn between SESA’s Sister project ENERGICA and SESA’s living labs, and a session hosted by mentors from SESA’s Incubator program at Smart Innovation Norway, to discuss business models and draw synergies between the living labs at the SESA project partner RI.SE Institute.

Exchange programmes such as this open the door for a two-way dialogue. On the value of peer-to-peer exchange and how the SESA project can help the City of Cascais reach its carbon neutrality goals. João Dinis contributes, “The SESA project engages the best stakeholders from different regions that share the same challenges that we do. The geographical and social context may be different, but our goal remains the same. It’s valuable for us to learn how different regions have approached smart energy solutions in their communities, and it presents an opportunity for us to share our own.”

Subsequent opportunities for exchange will involve SESA’s European Cities having the opportunity to visit the project’s living labs and discuss smart energy solutions in a different context, the most forthcoming opportunity taking place in October 2023 in Ghana for SESA’s next Regional Event.