WACEE 2017 OFFICIALLY OPENED ON 7TH NOVEMBER
The 6th West African Clean Energy & Environment Exhibition & Conference was officially opened on Tuesday 7th November at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The official opening was held with the participation of top governmental representatives:
- Mr. Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, Director, Renewable Energy at Ghana Ministry of Energy
- Mr. Hans-Helge Sander, Deputy Head of Mission, German Embassy to Ghana
- Mr. Burkhardt Hellemann – Country Director of Konrad Adenauer-Foundation, Ghana
- Mr. Maximilian Butek – Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana
The Guest of Honor, Mr. Hans-Helge Sander said in his address that Ghana’s power generation mix is expected to include 10% of renewable energy sources by the year 2020. That would be a significant leap from less than half a percent in 2016. However, this calculation does not account for the vast electricity generation from hydropower. Germany recognizes Ghana’s renewable energy potential and will continue to offer support for renewable energy projects in Ghana.
Subsequently, Ghana has been named as one of the three countries in Africa to benefit from the bilateral reform partnership within the G20 “Compact with Africa” Programme. This compact initiative will bring up to additional 100 million Euros to support the renewable energy sector in Ghana.
For the fourth time in a row, WACEE features an official “Made in Germany” pavilion consisting of 13 German exhibitors in addition to an information stand. The German pavilion is facilitated by the Federal German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in cooperation with the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry and supported by AHK Ghana.
Mr. Maximilian Butek also in his address extended his gratitude and appreciation to all exhibitors, visitors and sponsors of this year’s WACEE.
He said WACEE’17 is in partnership with organizations and institutions including the Association of Ghana Industries, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Oxford Business Group, the Renewable Energy Association of Ghana, Start-Up Factory Kumasi – Paderborn, University of Energy and Natural Resources (Department of Environmental Engineering) and the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre – KNUST in the advancement of renewable energy and environmental technologies in Ghana.
The 3-Day Conference was very successful and ended on Thursday 9th November.
