Climate change advocacy group, 350 Ghana Reducing Our Carbon (350 GROC), has been awarded the prestigious Renewable Energy Heroes award by 350 Africa and the Afrika Vuka Network. This recognition highlights 350 GROC's unwavering dedication to promoting renewable energy adoption and use across Ghana.

The award was announced at a press conference in Accra by Charles Wundengba, Communications Manager of 350 GROC. In his address, Wundengba expressed profound gratitude and emphasized the collective efforts of the organization’s volunteers.

"This award holds special significance because it recognizes the collective contributions of every volunteer within our organization," he stated.

350 GROC has been at the forefront of advocating for sustainable, community-centred, and equitable energy access in Ghana. The organization comprises a robust network of 150 members, including university associations, community leaders, religious leaders, and women's groups. Their impactful initiatives, such as the Renewable Energy for Communities campaign and the Women in Renewable Energy project, have significantly advanced the renewable energy agenda in Ghana.

One of the standout initiatives, the Renewable Energy for Schools project, has empowered 10,000 students across various educational levels with knowledge and skills in renewable energy.

The National Coordinator for 350 GROC, Portia Adu Mensah, elaborated on the significance of their projects. "The award underscores 350 GROC's unique projects like solar for slums, renewable energy artivism, and our capacity-building efforts, which have reached over 3,000 students and 1,000 community members in solar lamp creation and usage," she explained. The Women in Renewable Energy project has also significantly benefited 1,500 women nationwide.

Mrs. Adu Mensah also highlighted the importance of collaboration with stakeholders such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Energy Commission to ensure the alignment of projects with national policies.

"In as much as we are pushing these things in the communities, we know that the policymakers are the ones in charge of policy. So if the community folk accept it and there is no policy revolving around it, it still will not yield any fruits," she noted.

"What we are going to do is to be able to showcase the award to the organizations, the government institutions that this is the work of 350 GROC, in collaboration with them, pushing for renewable energy at the grassroots level."

Despite the celebration of their achievements, 350 GROC called on the Ghanaian government to be more proactive in meeting its renewable energy targets.

"While celebrating our achievements, we also call on the Ghanaian government to be proactive in achieving its renewable energy goals.

...Unfortunately, the target of 10% non-hydro RE integration in our energy mix by 2020 remains unmet. We urge realistic goal-setting and intentional efforts to promote renewable energy adoption," Wundengba urged.