Historical pathways to a green economy: The evolution and scaling-up of solar PV in Ghana, 1980–2010

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Highlights

  • The study sheds light on scaling-up of solar PV in a developing economy.

  • We identified four distinct phases as the industry evolved and scaling-up activities intensified.

  • The study offers an integrated stage model.

Abstract

Although scaling up of renewable technologies is essential in creating opportunities for sustainable economic development to flourish, our understanding of the historical trajectory of government policies in facilitating this process remains limited. In this paper, we attempt to address this deficit in our understanding by focusing on developing economies. We examine the Ghanaian government's policies from 1980–2010 towards scaling up solar photovoltaic technology. Our analysis led to the identification of four distinct phases as the industry evolved and scaling-up activities intensified. During the embryonic phase, much of the development was driven largely by non-governmental organisations. However, as the industry conditions changed, government involvement increased and policies became less ambiguous. During the last two phases, more private–public partnerships emerged to respond to incentives such as tax relief and subsidies offered by the government. We enrich our understanding of the process of evolution by integrating the literature on capacity building and scaling-up theories.

Introduction

Over the past three decades, solar photovoltaic (PV) has emerged with greater intensity across the world to become one of the most promising technologies to aid the shift to a decarbonised energy supply (Duan et al., 2014, Bradford, 2006). With advancements in the existing technologies, in tandem with increasing electricity prices from traditional energy sources such as oil and gas, PV systems have increasingly become an attractive alternative to governments and domestic users (Tigabu et al., 2015, Science Daily, 2011, Sawyer, 1982). Solar PV dissemination is now seen as sine qua non for poverty alleviation and allowing individuals to gain “grid independence” by becoming “energy generators” (Bradford, 2006, Crane and Kennedy, 2012, Burns, 1982, Weingart, 1978).

Despite the potentially pivotal role of the technology in poverty alleviation and economic advancement, there has been a dearth of research on the historical evolution of government policies in the process of scaling up such technologies (Tigabu et al., 2015, Binz et al., 2012, Dolfsma and Seo, 2013, Tsoutsos and Stamboulis, 2005). Against this backdrop, our primary purpose of this study is to examine the evolution and role of national government in scaling up the solar PV technology in Ghana. Our theoretical insight is derived from the integration of scaling-up and capacity development literature to develop a historical phase model of the process through which government policies evolve to facilitate the shift towards decarbonisation.

Our choice of Ghana as an exemplar setting for this study is grounded in a number of factors. Firstly, Ghana is regarded as the “gateway to West Africa” and torchbearer of African aspiration (Debrah, 2002). It is also an emerging economy whose policies in many areas, including energy, have been replicated by its neighbouring countries (see Acquaah, 2007). Despite periods of economic decline and unfulfilled potential in the 1970s and 1980s, the country has emerged and is now regarded as one of the fastest growing emerging economies in Africa. In addition, Ghana is one of the leading emerging economies in Africa, but lagged behind most of it counterparts elsewhere in the emerging world in scaling up the technology (Duan et al., 2014). This is surprising given that governments over the last three decades have championed solar PV as a panacea for economic development and progress. In recent decades, the pressing needs to address the climate change challenge and facilitate decarbonisation have been accompanied also by initiatives to reduce emission and overdependence on inefficient sources of energy. Therefore, our findings would have wider implications beyond the shores of the country and revitalising national policies towards the scaling up of new technologies.

We focus on this industry and adoption of solar PV due to the inherent economic and health benefits. For instance, recent global studies have indicated that smoke from indoor and outdoor cooking can cause damage to health and shorten individuals' lifespan (attributable global annual mortality of around 1.6 million) (e.g., Duan et al., 2014, Haines et al., 2007). Within the Ghanaian setting, some scholars have found that solar PV lighting minimises health hazards such as the number of household members who get blackened nostrils from soot linked to kerosene lanterns (Obeng et al., 2008a). There is an increasing recognition that access to energy and ability to exploit renewable sources of energy are not only essential in unlocking the potential of the country, but also provide the foundation towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (Brew-Hammond, 2010, World Bank, 2008). Therefore, the scaling up of solar energy not only has the potential to help achieve sustainable development, but also helps in poverty alleviation efforts.

Our analysis starts from 1980 when solar PV technology was introduced to the market. We explore the issue from 1980–2010, a defining period in the development of solar technology and the evolving nature of government policies towards scaling up. We consulted archival data within all the relevant government ministries and policy documents. In addition, reports from international organisations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) were also consulted, and mass media reports on energy policies were also consulted. The rest of this article is organised along the following lines. In the next section, we review the literature on scaling up and capacity development. This is then followed by a historical review of the scaling-up process and from 1980–2010. We divide the analysis into four distinct phases, which shed light on the role of government and other bodies in the scaling-up process. The final section outlines the theoretical and policy implications of the findings.

Section snippets

Scaling up and capacity development: a brief overview

The scaling-up and capacity-building theories are important lenses through which to explore the nature of questions raised (Lewis and Kanji, 2009). Scaling up can be defined as follows: “expanding, adapting and sustaining successful policies, programmes or projects in different places and over time to reach a greater number of people” (Hartmann and Linn, 2008, p. 7) or end users (Jowett and Dyer, 2012). Scaling up can be achieved through dissemination of best practices, which allows resources

The solar photovoltaic industry in Ghana

Historically, the Ghanaian government has sought to increase energy production through the construction of hydroelectric dams (Gyau-Boakye, 2001). In 1961, the government began the construction of the Akosombo Hydroelectric Project immediately after becoming a republic in 1960 (Hilton, 1966). Since the opening of the Akosombo Dam in 1965, Ghana has relied heavily on hydroelectric power to meet vital energy demands from both households and industry. Over the decades, over-reliance on

Phases in scaling up solar PV

Based on historical archival data, we identified four phases in the evolution of government policies and the increasing role of the market in scaling up the technology. Below, we unpack key features of each phase in the evolution of the industry.

National pathways to a green economy

The shift at this stage was shaped by factors such as previous experiences of droughts, political instabilities and increasing pressure to diversify sources of energy supply. Despite limited awareness and policy uncertainty which hampered progress in the first two phases, attitudes of the general public and politicians began to shift towards recognising the benefits of the technology. There is an “arouse the willingness of communities to acquire such technologies, and of the political

Discussion and contributions

The purpose of this paper was to examine the historical pathways of the Ghanaian government policies in scaling up solar PV from 1980–2010. We charted the evolution and scaling up against a backdrop of an evolving institutional environment and shifting political regimes from democracy to coup d'état to democracy and their impacts on policy formulation. Through examination of archival data, we identified four main stages in the scaling-up process which reflected the interactive role of

Implications for theory

Our study makes at least three main contributions to the business history, policy analysis and scaling-up literature. First, our study serves to reintroduce the interactive role of markets, industrial competition and new technologies in helping to meet the climate change challenge. We contribute to the literature on national developmental priorities (Brahm, 1995), by shedding light on the scaling-up process, strategies and stages of how government actions evolve to help in the process of

Implications for practice

Our historical narrative approach and analysis has implications for contemporary public policy. Although local firms' level capacity building is equally as important as policy framework to roll out the technology, to date many of the government policies have paid little attention to how local firms can be equipped to spearhead the scaling up efforts as well as how to help them in establishing a sustainable domestic manufacturing base. Therefore, government policy should seek to provide

Joseph Amankwah-Amoah is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Economics, Finance and Management at the University of Bristol, UK. His research interests include organisational failure, global business strategy, lateral hiring, liberalisation, and the airline and solar PV industries. He has published articles in journals such as the International Journal of HRM, Business History, Group & Organization Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Workplace Learning, Journal of Management

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    Joseph Amankwah-Amoah is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Economics, Finance and Management at the University of Bristol, UK. His research interests include organisational failure, global business strategy, lateral hiring, liberalisation, and the airline and solar PV industries. He has published articles in journals such as the International Journal of HRM, Business History, Group & Organization Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Workplace Learning, Journal of Management Development, Management & Organizational History, Strategic Change, Thunderbird International Business Review, Journal of Strategy and Management, and Journal of General Management.

    David Sarpong is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy and International Business at the Bristol Business School, University of the West of England. His research interests revolve around strategic management, organisational foresight, innovation, Heideggerian approach to ‘practice’, and microhistoria. His research has been published in journals such as Technovation, Scandinavian Journal of Management, European Management Journal, Strategic Change, Futures and, Foresight. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Strategy Special Interest Group, British Academy of Management.

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