Efforts at promoting clean energy use in the country has received a huge boost with the development of improved cook stoves by the Technology Consultancy Center (TCC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The stove, apart from reducing carbon emissions and indoor pollution, has the added advantage of cutting down fuel usage by about 70 per cent.

A research report of the university made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi said the project was funded by the Energy Commission of Ghana with an amount of US$90,000.00.

It said a team of researchers at the Applied Industrial Ceramics and Rural Enterprises Development Unit (AIC-RED), led by Mr. Michael Commeh spearheaded the development of the stove.

Some senior high schools (SHS) in the Ashanti Region including the Kumasi Secondary Technical School (KSTS) and Yaaa Asantewaa Girls, are already using them.

The report said these cook “very fast, save energy and time” and the idea was to aggressively promote their adoption by the people.

The Center had also developed a heat retention device, which it said was less harmful to human use.

The report added that a testing and expertise centre for the devices had been established at the KNUST to carry out efficiency, performance, technical and emission level test on cook stoves produced locally or imported into the country.