Management of Stanbic Bank Ghana and its partners have installed solar power systems at three of its branches, lowering their carbon emissions and making the bank more environmentally friendly.

The systems were installed on the roofs of Stanbic Bank’s Tema, Kasoa and Dansoman branches. The Tema and Kasoa systems have a capacity of 10 kWp, while the Dansoman branch has a capacity of 20 kWp.

Mr Alhassan Andani, the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic Bank Ghana, speaking at the inauguration of the solar systems said the technology in harnessing solar energy has improved significantly.

The project was implemented by Ecoligo GmbH, in cooperation with procurement and installation partners, and is part of the German Energy Agency (dena)’s Renewable Energy Solutions Programme.

The Bank's branches are still connected to the national grid, however, the energy produced by the solar systems is solely for self-consumption and is not fed back into the grid.

He said management” wants to be known in the industry as a player, who is leading in Sustainable banking”.

"We are leading the way to enable Ghana to see the potential in harnessing cheap solar energy," he added.

He said with the Bank saving 30 per cent of power from the national grid, management would make sure, they reach out to all their point of operations across the country.

"Management will make sure and support our customers to adopt the solar energy systems and will provide financing in that regard," he said.

Mr Andani called on government to review the renewable energy policy to make it more flexible.

He expressed the hope that they would continue to work with people in government to move from nuclear energy to renewable energy.

Mr Markus Schwaninger, Chief Financial Officer, Ecoligo GmbH said the company's fully-financed solar as a service solution allowed companies to access renewable energy, while continuing to focus their resources on their core business.

He said the project creates a strong blueprint for future projects and "we look forward to completing many more in Ghana this year."

He said working with experienced partners ensured that their solar projects were implemented professionally and safely as well as built to last.