The Never-Ending Business Based on a Never-Ending Urban Resource

In recent years, Ghana has been the focal point of West Africa for its quickly growing urbanization, especially in education, technology, and economy. Due to this growth, the country’s demand for electricity has been growing steadily and the government is looking for alternative energy sources.

The recent increase in the demand for energy, and CO2 reduction concerns has called for the exploration into alternative sustainable and renewable energies. The importance of renewable energy resources in addressing the energy demands of economic sectors of many nations cannot be underestimated. Ghana, amongst other African economies, has seen an increase in energy demand as compared to the supply of energy in the last decade.

Renewable energy programs and projects implemented in recent years have demonstrated that renewable energy interventions have enormous potential to reduce poverty and improve the socio-economic development of the country, particularly in rural communities.

The energy situation in Ghana

In the past decade, Ghana has experienced a severe electric supply challenge costing the nation an average of US $2.1 million in loss of production daily. This situation has developed even though installed generation capacity has more than doubled over the same period.

This challenge can be attributed to several factors, including overdependence on thermal and hydro sources for electricity generation and a poor tariff structure, which makes it difficult for the utility companies to recover the cost of production. Another strong reason is that a sustainable business model has not been implemented to bring interest from the private sector and the public sector does not have the funds or means to implement the job.

Annual electricity demand growth is estimated at about 10%. The Energy Commission estimates that a capacity addition of about 200 MW per annum is required to catch up with the increasing demand in the medium to long term. It is projected that electricity demand will reach about 23,000 GWh by 2020, rising to about 40,000 GWh by 2030. Demand for petroleum products is expected to increase by about 300% from 2800 ktoe in 2015 to 11,240 ktoe in 2030. Growth in petroleum products demand will be driven largely by expected increases in demand for diesel, gasoline, and LPG.

The expansion of renewable energy is imperative to Ghana, not only to fulfill people’s electrical needs but also to take initiative in reducing carbon gas emissions and combat climate change.

Solving Ghana’s electricity challenges would require measures including, but not limited to, diversifying the electricity generation mix through the development of other hydro power and renewable energy sources for which the country has huge potential.

Waste to energy is the solution

Every piece of waste has an energetic potential that can be extracted using certain processes. The result of these processes is available energy that can be consumed in various methods (fuel, electricity, methane, etc.) The Ghanaian waste industry is estimated to be worth $16.6 billion annually. Currently, there is no utilization of this potential in any means, and that needs to be rectified. Over the years, costs have dropped significantly for most of the technologies that can address this. As costs have reduced, investments have risen in several parts of the world. Annual investments in new renewable energy capacity increased from about US$65 billion in 2005 to US$286 billion in 2015. As of 2015, 173 countries have policy targets for renewable energy. Global experts in this field claim that renewable power will dominate in the future. The common opinion is that the share of renewable power will at least double by 2050, and more than half estimated a share of 80% or higher. This Waste to Energy solution redefines the utilization of waste in Ghana by creating an efficient, cost-effective waste-processing system that has the potential to replace landfills within 5 years. That is something to take notice of!

Benefits of this technology

The benefits are incredible and will usher in a healthier, richer future!

• Saving money on infrastructure and transportation

• Creating alternative, low-cost source of energy

• Making Accra the cleanest city in Africa

• Tapping into a multi-billion-dollar industry

• Creating large-scale economy in the heart of Accra

Urban waste should be viewed as a natural resource. The things we throw away can serve as the foundation of one of the largest growing and most stable economies we could ever create. A circular solution can enable an entire economy. A circular economy is a strategic action plan that minimizes loss and maximizes sustainability.

Developing the renewable energy sector in Ghana with the capacity to sustainably utilize resources, will transform Ghana into a self-sustaining circular economy country with expertise in renewable energy research, production, and services.

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