Mfantseman Girls School has won the second edition of the Senior High Schools Renewable Energy Challenge.

The Girls beat off competition from Adisadel College, St. Augustine’s College, Mankessim Secondary Technical School and Academy of Christ The king to win the ultimate prize.

The Saltpond Girls presented a project on road power where speed rams could be erected on the country’s busy highways that could covert the motions or movement of the vehicles into energy to power street lights and other small power-consuming projects.

8 schools participated in the regional competition and the students presented sterling innovative projects that could support the energy needs of the country.

Coordinator of the school challenge project and Chief Program Officer in charge of Bio-Energy at the Energy Commission, Julius Nkansah Nyarko explained the exploits by the competing schools in their projects foretells a great future as far as Ghana’s energy needs are concerned.

He stressed the Energy Commission was collaborating with some research institutions in the country to take the projects up and research on them further to scale them up into solutions that could address Ghana’s energy needs.

“We would be partnering research institutions like the CSIR, the Energy Centre at the KNUST to help refine the ideas and project of these students,” he explained.

He further intimated the future of the country rests on the young adults in the various schools as science, technology and ICT form the backbone of progressive countries.

He said that’s why the Energy Commission is spending so much to harness talents that could produce renewable energy for the consumption of the country.

He added, “The students learn about the theories in their schools and we are trying to engage to get them to undertake practical aspect of what they have learnt. For some of them, they have not experienced what they have learnt in textbooks practically before and this is the opportunity to make something out of what they have learnt.”

He explained further that the competition sought to develop research skills, promote technical innovation in renewable energy efficiencies in the students for them to develop a passion for solving renewable energy challenges, climate change and encourage hard work through public recognition and rewards.

The 8 participating schools took turns to explain their project work on how renewable energy could answer national energy issues to ensure energy efficiency and economic growth.

While Mfantseman Girls worked on 'road-power (generated energy from speed ramps), Komenda Senior High/Technical school’s project was on windmill. Academy of Christ the King school’s project tackled the energy solutions using banana peel; Adisadel College relied on greenhouse solar and wind dependent power home; St. Augustine's College on Ocean Wave Energy; Potsin T.I. Amass worked on Solar Oven and Mankessim Senior High/Technical School worked on wind
Turbine generator.

The winners, Mfantseman Girls Senior High School, apart from the teachers and the students certificates and an undisclosed amount of money would visit the also Bui Power Authority and receive mentoring by the Council for Scientific Research (CSIR) and Kumasi Energy Centre while the other participating schools received certificates and an undisclosed amounts of money.

The best six school projects would be selected for exhibition for each zone, for a presentation at the finals to be held at the Accra International Conference Centre during the 7th Ghana Renewable Energy Fair that would be held on October 15.

Director, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change at the Energy Commission, Kofi Agyarko, said his outfit remained committed to scientific innovations through science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

He said efficient energy was the key to achieving the national industrialization drive, bridge the academia-industry gap with new crop of engineers, researchers and scientists who will usher Ghana into low carbon emissions.

He said the Energy Commission was borne of the Commission's quest to lead and drum the essence of renewable energy benefits.

Headmaster of Adisadel College, Samuel Agudogo, was excited the Authority and the Energy Commission had taken such huge steps to explore renewable energy for the country’s present use and for the use of the unborn generation.

Even more important, he says, is the fact that the students are being made to apply what they have been taught.

“This is very refreshing. It is only through application of what has been learnt that we can confidently say that learning has taken place,” he added.

The competition had been instituted to bridge the gap between the academia and the industry to solve challenging national issues militating national development.

The competition was initiated by the Energy Commission in collaboration with the Bui Power Authority and the Ghana Education Service (GES).