Financing remains a major hurdle to scaling up microgrids and minigrids in Ghana’s drive toward universal electricity access, John Abdulai Jinapor, Minister of Energy and Green Transition, has said.

In an address delivered on his behalf at a National Forum on Microgrids and Minigrids for Off-Grid Electrification in Accra, the Minister said high upfront costs and perceived risks continued to deter private sector participation.

“Financing remains a hurdle – high costs and risks deter private players. “Ghana is addressing this hurdle with stable policies, regulations, de-risking mechanisms, capacity building, and market support, while prioritising affordability and inclusion,” he said.

The forum, chaired by Kwabena Donkor, former Minister for Power, sought to build consensus on practical steps to accelerate the deployment of decentralised renewable energy systems as part of Ghana’s national electrification strategy.

It brought together government officials, regulators, development partners, private sector leaders, traditional authorities, and civil society to discuss policy, regulatory, and financing frameworks needed to scale up microgrid and minigrid deployment.

Ghana’s national electricity access rate currently stands at 89.03 per cent, leaving about 3.5 million people, largely in remote, island, and lakeside communities, without a reliable power supply.

Jinapor said extending the national grid to such communities was often slow and capital-intensive.

“This demands a rethink of how we plan, deliver, and use energy,” he said, describing microgrids and minigrids as “vital pillars” of Ghana’s energy future.

The Minister noted that decentralised systems powered by solar, biomass, and battery storage could deliver reliable electricity closer to communities, cut emissions, and support productive activities.

“Electricity that ignores livelihoods, industry, and services fails to transform,” he said, adding that microgrid-based energy parks must link power supply to agro-processing, cold storage, irrigation, healthcare, education, and small-scale manufacturing.

The forum highlighted progress under the Africa Energy Parks (AEP) initiative and the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP), which were supporting solar mini-grids and solar home systems in off-grid communities.

Donkor said despite significant gains in electricity expansion, between 10 and 15 per cent of Ghanaians -mainly in rural and hard-to-reach areas – still lacked reliable access to modern energy services.

“Grid extension alone cannot deliver universal access within the required timeframe,” he noted, and said that decentralised renewable energy systems offered a complementary pathway.

Paulina Różycka, Team Leader for Infrastructure and Sustainable Development at the Delegation of the European Union to Ghana, said microgrids and minigrids were not just an option but a necessity for reaching remote communities.

She cited the Africa Energy Parks project in Jang in the Savannah Region as a demonstration of how renewable energy parks could provide reliable power to more than 500 households while supporting productive use and climate resilience.

The forum would produce a summary of key recommendations, secure stakeholder endorsement of the AEP model, and strengthen collaboration among government, industry, and development partners.