By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
Kumasi, March 11, GNA – Some Certified Electrical Wiring Professionals (CEWP) have been trained on best practices in designing Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems to enhance their work in Kumasi.
The day’s seminar, organized by Process and Plant Automation Limited (PPA), an industrial and building automation company, was aimed at introducing participants to effective practices and guidelines in electrical wiring, among others.
It was also aimed at sharing knowledge and bridging the skill gaps in designing and sizing Solar PV systems for applications in homes, offices, and shopping centres, among others.
Mr Samuel Antwi, a Project Consultant, PPA Limited, said countries around the world had embraced renewable energy as an environmentally friendly and sustainable source of electricity.
He said as the Solar PV market segment continued to grow, professionals in the field needed to improve on methods and procedures to deliver cost-effective solutions that met international standards.
“It is important that technicians and engineers learn about new and better ways to install Solar PV systems, to reduce the overall cost to the end-user,” he explained.
He said since Ghana was steadily progressing in achieving the 10 per cent target of renewable energy by 2030, PPA Limited would continue to sharpen the skills of professionals to design and install Solar PV systems that brought relief to the people.
Mr Antwi said the company, in its 18 years of existence, had provided wall to wall electrical engineering and automation services and products to the industrial sector including the real estate industry with its expertise in systems integration for control and instrumentation products and smart building technologies.
He said the company had over the years provided training for electrical engineering professionals and aimed to ensure wider participation to enhance safety to prevent industrial and domestic electrical disasters.
Mr Francis Akpaloo, a Scientific Officer, Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) in charge of testing electrical and electronic products, called on participants to use tested, verified products that guaranteed the safety of installers and users.
He said GSA had over the years been testing products, services, and processes to verify quality claims of products to meet basic minimum requirements.
Mr Akpaloo said the Authority in 2017 conducted a rigorous surveillance exercise and discovered that about 88 per cent of electrical products and accessories in the market were sub-standard.
Through the surveillance programme, he said, the Authority had seen a reduction in sub-standard electrical products on the market, stressing that when the market surveillance were sustained, importers would bring in quality products.
Mr Yaw Amponsah Ababio, Ashanti Regional President of CEWP, said the seminar had exposed them to the realities of the use of Solar PV as most people did not believe Solar PV was real.
He commended PPA Limited for initiating the seminar to broaden their knowledge base in Solar PV and called on the company to continually assist professionals in training on automation among other cutting-edge technologies.
GNA
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