Drums thundered across Volta Lake today as Ghana’s Energy Minister John Jinapor thrust a golden shovel into sun-baked soil, igniting celebrations that echoed through decades of darkness.

The sod-cutting ceremony for Ghana’s $86 million Solar Mini-Grid and Net Metering Project marks a quantum leap in the nation’s race to achieve 99.8% electrification by 2030.

The project targets a critical gap: island communities comprising 15% of Ghana’s unelectrified population.

For 84,000 residents across 59 islands in the Sene East, Oti, and Savannah regions, this means:

• 35 solar mini-grids replacing kerosene and generators
• Refrigerated vaccines for 200 health centres
• 24-hour study light for 400 schools
• 2,865 new jobs (30% reserved for women/youth)

"We’re not just installing panels—we’re lighting lives and ending energy exile," declared Minister John Jinapor. “Today, Lala and many other communities in the Sene East, Oti and Savannah regions will, upon the completion of the project, benefit from renewable energy-powered mini-grids, productive use of renewable energy, and capacity-building initiatives that will foster gender mainstreaming, sustainability, and deliver progress".

"Ada proved mini-grids transform lives," said Swiss Deputy Head of Cooperation Magdalena Wust, handing maintenance manuals to Volta River Authority engineers. "*Now we scale up – but sustainability depends on communities owning these systems.

In a powerful fusion of tradition and innovation, Bono East chiefs poured libations on the land. Paramount Chief of Bassa and President of the Regional House of Chiefs, Nana Owusu Sakyi III, thanked the government for the move and added that “this will complement the government’s 24-hour economy, which will in turn bring development to the area.”

Representative of the African Development Bank, Bekalie Ollame, noted that “The Bank’s commitment to Ghana’s energy transition extends beyond financing. As an accredited agency of the Climate Investment Fund and Green Climate Fund, we are ready to work with Ghana to mobilise further concessional resources while leveraging our own special funds, such as the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and the Climate Action Window”.