By Edmund Smith-Asante
It is as clear as day light, that Ghana, after 57 years of independence, is still groping in the dark looking for the right switch to light up the country.
Indeed, Ghana started its search on a good note, when it built the Akosombo hydroelectric power dam in 1965, eight years after independence.
That was, and still is a major feat, as it is one of a kind, not only in Africa, but in the entire world. The huge dam created by forming the largest man-made lake in the world – the Volta Lake, was no mean achievement.
With that, the newly born country was ready to embark on an industrial revolution and take its destiny into its own hands.
Ghana became the toast of the world, as it was able to establish major industries which produced for both local consumption and export.
That could not have been achieved as a country, if it were not for the availability of power.
Ghana has since the creation of its first dam built two more – the Kpong hydropower dam downstream the Akosombo to make use of otherwise waste water from the former and the Bui Dam, the very latest addition.
But as recent events have shown, the three dams have together, not succeeded in providing all the power needs of the country, which has risen with the increase in population.
Although the Aboadze Thermal Plant near Takoradi was built to complement the three hydro dams, its dependency on crude oil and gas, which are imported at great price, has somewhat faulted its contribution to power supply in the country.
The main reasons for this are fluctuating oil prices on the world market and unreliable gas supply to power it. And to think that the West Africa Gas Pipeline project would end the gas drought!
If the current development is anything to go by, then it means there are more hurdles to be cleared, if the gas project is to solve Ghana’s gas supply needs.
A Hopeless Situation?
Load-shedding, power outages and load management among others have been forcefully added to the daily vocabulary of Ghanaians, not to talk about the local coinage ‘dumsor’, which has even been adopted by officialdom.
After the drought of 1983 which resulted in the first major power crisis in the country, the curtailment of power to homes and industries by utility provider, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has still not stopped and has occurred on countless occasions.
The ‘dumsor’ periods include 2006/2007 described by Mr E O Bekoe in his article “The Impact of Droughts and Climate Change on Electricity” as the severest power rationing ever witnessed in Ghana, 2012, 2013 and now the first quarter of 2014.
2014 Power Rationing
Reasons given for the need of power rationing include a reduction in the water level of the Akosombo Dam and the unavailability of fuel or gas to power the thermal plants of the Volta River Authority.
According to the Volta River Authority (VRA), gas supply from the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) has dropped to an all-time low of 30 million standard cubic feet per day, as against a contractual volume of around 120 million standard cubic feet per day.
Supply had ranged between 60 million and 90 million standard cubic feet per day before the sharp drop.
Meanwhile, the country is currently missing close to 300 megawatts due to the gas supply deficit, as well as expansion works at the Takoradi T2 thermal plant.
Although it is hoped that after the expansion works by close of year and installation and commissioning of a 220 megawatts thermal plant at Kpong in December 2014, 300 megawatts would be added to the current power production, Ghana needs to be more proactive to even generate excess power for export.
The current energy exports to neighbouring countries are more of a contractual agreement than business oriented.
Learning from the Danish example
So much can be borrowed from Denmark by way of inspiration, technology, expert advice and funding, to once and for all give Ghana’s energy crises a killer blow.
After touring three cities in Denmark, namely Copenhagen, Aalborg and Aarhus recently, African journalists who were on a six-day Green Growth Study Tour came to one conclusion – Nothing is considered waste there. Everything is utilised to the zilch.
It was an energy, business and environment tour of a small yet very prudent and energy efficient country of 5.5 million people to learn at first hand and be able to adequately report for the countries the journalists presented – Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.
The sun, wind, water, organic and liquid waste, all combine to provide power for homes and industries through solar energy, wind energy and biogas, while tests are currently being conducted to get power from wave energy in Denmark.
It however did not happen overnight. According to Mr Iver Høj Nielsen, Head of Press, State of Green Consortium, a public-private partnership in Denmark leading in the transition to a green growth economy, the country decided to take the bull by the horns in dealing with her energy challenges as far back as the 1970s.
He said Denmark resolved to invest in renewable energy, when they were caught unawares at the start of the global oil crisis in 1973/74. “We were 99 per cent dependent on imported energy and oil from the Middle East,” Mr Nielsen recounted.
Since then however, Denmark has not looked back and has become the green capital of the world, with an ultimate aim to become a fossil fuel independent economy, using 100 per cent renewable energy in the energy and transport sectors by 2050.
In actual fact, the Danish economy has grown by 80 per cent since switching to renewable energy, while energy consumption has remained the same and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been reduced.
Denmark also hopes to attain 50 per cent reduction in energy consumption in existing buildings by 2050 and phase out the use of coal by 2030.
The country has also through an energy agreement signed in 2012, set a target of 7.6 per cent reduction in gross energy consumption by 2020 (relative to 2010), increased energy savings obligations for utility companies and developed a national strategy for retrofitting of all buildings.
It has also introduced an Investment Subsidy Scheme to promote energy-efficient use of renewable energy in industrial production processes.
Energy sources in Denmark
To ensure power no more becomes a challenge, Denmark, which tags itself as “the world’s happiest nation”, has invested heavily in wind energy and hopes to supply 50 per cent of electricity power from wind power by 2020.
Wind turbines come in different sizes and capacities to allow for affordability and currently Denmark is testing the world’s largest windmill at the Østerild National Test Centre.
Solar energy is also used as well as biogas, while sea waves are currently being expored for the generation of power at Thy in Hantsholm, Aalborg. Tests are being conducted by Wave Star Energy.
Denmark has been able to achieve so much in power generation because of the close collaboration that exists between government, the universities and the private sector.
Writer’s email: Edmund.Asante@graphic.com
FACTS
- The VRA estimates that electricity demand increased by 10 per cent in 2012 and by 12 per cent in 2013.
- Ghana is currently missing close to 300 megawatts due to the gas supply deficit, as well as expansion works at the Takoradi T2 thermal plant.
- Power currently available for distribution is1,650 megawatts instead of a daily requirement of about 2,000 megawatts.
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