GHANASBLUEPRINTFORASUSTAINABLEENERGY

FUTURE
By
HON.SHERRYAYITTEY,
MINISTER
FOR
ENVIRONMENT,SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY
GHANA

RenewableEnergyinGhana:ProspectsandChallenges
gy
p
g
Renewableenergyresourcesinclude:
SolarPower PhotoVoltaic(PV)andThermal
( )
BioEnergy BiomassandBiofuel
WindPower
HydroPower
TidalPowerandWavePower
GeothermalPower
FuelCells
Hydrogengenerationandstorage
Renewableenergyissitespecificandtechnologydriven.
RenewableenergythatcanbeexploitedinGhanainclude:
Hydropower(mini,micro)solar,biofuels,windandenergy
derivedfromwaste(agriculturalandmunicipal)

ChallengestoFutureEnergyDevelopmentWorldwide
Challenges
to Future Energy Development Worldwide
Futureenergydevelopmentfacesgreatchallengesdueto
Increasing
Increasingstandardsoflivingworldwide
standards of living worldwide
Demandforcleanerenergyassociatedwithlesspollution

Depletion
Depletionoffossilfuel
of fossil fuel
Withoutenergy,theinfrastructurewhichformsthebasisof
developmentwouldcollapse:agriculture,transportation,
p
p
g
,
p
,
informationtechnology,communicationandmostofthe
basicneedsoflifedependonenergy.
GhanasEnergyChallenges
Withanexpandingeconomyandgrowingpopulation,Ghana
facesmajorchallengesinproviding:therequiredamountof
energywith
ith reliabilityandsustainability
li bilit
d
t i bilit

GhanasEnergyChallenges

Woodfuelconsumptionisexpectedtorisealmostfivetimesfrom14million
t
tonesin2000to66milliontonesby2020
i 2000 t 66 illi t
b 2020
Totalpetroleumdemandisprojectedtogrowfromabout1.6milliontonesin
2000to4.5millionby2020
Electricitydemandforthedomesticmarketisprojectedtoexceed4,400MWin
2020

RenewableEnergyResourcesinGhana
Renewable
Energy Resources in Ghana
WindEnergy
The availability depends on the geographical location of
Theavailabilitydependsonthegeographicallocationof
countryrelativetotheequator:
Countrieslocatedfurtherfromtheequatorareknown
Countries located further from the equator are known
tohaverelativelyhighwindenergypotentialcompared
to cou t es c ose
tocountriescloser
Anotherchallengeisthestorageofenergyproduced
duringblusteryperiods
g
yp
Windspeedsbelow5m/sareconsideredtobetoolow
forcommercialexploitation
p
AlongthecostofGhanawindspeedsof39m/shave
beenrecordedandcouldsustaineconomicexploitation
p
ofwindenergy

RenewableEnergyResourcesinGhana
GeothermalEnergy
Geothermal
Energy
Geothermalenergyasinenergyderivedfromheatintheearth
crusthasbeenharnessedformorethanacentury.Ghanahasno
knowngeothermalenergyresource
SolarPower
The sun is the most abundant source of energy in the universe
Thesunisthemostabundantsourceofenergyintheuniverse
whichcanbeharnessedintheformofheatorlight.Thechallenge
associated with using solar energy especially for a developing
associatedwithusingsolarenergyespeciallyforadeveloping
countrylikeGhanahasbeentheinitialcostofprocuringthesolar
panels.
Biofuel
Thisisfuelthatisderivedfrombiomass.Unlikepetroleum,biofuel
is a renewable resource Uncertainties in the price of fossil fuel
isarenewableresource.Uncertaintiesinthepriceoffossilfuel
andconcernfortheenvironmenthasprecipitatedtheneedfor
biofuel. xperiences from countries such as ra il, Malaysia and
biofuel.ExperiencesfromcountriessuchasBrazil,Malaysiaand
Germanyshowshow considerablepotentialforbiofuels.

RenewableEnergyResourcesinGhana
FuelCell
l ll
Thetechnologyinvolvestheconversionofchemicalhydrogenand
oxygen into water and in the process generate electricity This
oxygenintowaterandintheprocessgenerateelectricity.This
holdsconsiderablepotentialforaddressingtheenergyneedsof
theworldinthefuture

ChallengestotheDevelopmentofRenewableEnergyinGhana
LimitedRenewableEnergyResources
i i d
bl
RenewableenergysourcesinGhanaconsistingofsmallandmini
microhydro wind solar biomass and municipal solid waste would
microhydro,wind,solar,biomassandmunicipalsolidwastewould
onlybeabletosupplybetween380and500MWdelivering
between2,500and3,500GWh competitively.
p
y
ThiswillformaboutatenthoftheenergyrequirementofGhana
by2020.Morethan10%ofrenewableenergyintheenergymix
wouldincreasethecostofgenerationsignificantly
ld i
h
f
i
i ifi
l

ChallengestotheDevelopmentofRenewableEnergyinGhana
(Continue)
ThepotentialofgeneratinggridelectricityfromSolarPVislimited
bycapitalratherthanresource.
Windmayhavethelargestcapacityfordevelopmentamongthe
optionsandhasthepotentialofcontributingsignificantlytogrid
ti
d h th
t ti l f
t ib ti
i ifi tl t
id
powerbyabout200300MWproducing600GWh
CostperKilowattHour
Oneofthecriticalchallengestotheadoptionofrenewableenergy
sourcesisthecostperunittoconsumerscomparedwithenergy
fromothersources(fossilfuels).
ThecostofgridconnectedsolarenergyperkWhisoverUS$0.30
Th
t f id
t d l
kWh i
US$0 30
comparedtoUS$0.04/kWh
ThecostofasolarpanelfacilityinGhanaisaboutUS$7000/kW
cost of a solar panel facility in Ghana is about US$ 7000/kW
The
comparedtoUS$5001000foragasfiredthermalpowerplant

Challenges to the Development of Renewable Energy

ChallengestotheDevelopmentofRenewableEnergy
InvestmentRisk
Thevolatilityinthepricingofoilandgasontheinternational
marketincreasestheriskofinvestmentinrenewableenergy
f iliti
facilities.Adropinhydrocarbonpriceserodesenthusiasmfor
Ad
i h d
b
i
d
th i
f
investmentinrenewableenergysector
CompetingTechnologies
Thereisintensecompetitiontoachievehegemonywithinthesub
sectorsoftherenewableenergymarket.Inbiofuels,lobbyistsfora
cornbasedsolutionviewiththosechampioningcellulose,ethanol,
bi di l Withi th
biodiesel.Withinthesolarmarket,concentratingsolarpower
l
k t
t ti
l
systemscompetewiththemuchmorepopularphotovoltaic
systems

ChallengestotheDevelopmentofRenewableEnergy
Challenges
to the Development of Renewable Energy
(Continue)
NotInMyBackyardSyndrome
y
y
y
Renewableenergyalthoughprovidelesspollutioncomparedto
energyfromfossilfuel,therehavebeensignificantbacklashfrom
communitiesregardingtheconstructingoffacilitiestoproduce
ii
di
h
i
f f ili i
d
renewableenergy.
Intermittent Nature of Renewable Energy and Storage Difficulties
IntermittentNatureofRenewableEnergyandStorageDifficulties
Manyrenewableenergysourcesareoftendismissedbecausethey
cannotbestoredandalsobecausetheyareintermittent.
ConstraintstoBiofuelDevelopment
Thedevelopmentofanalternativetoexistingfuelrequirespolicy
di
directivesandstrategies.
i
d
i
Themainconstraintsare:Feedstockavailability,localprocessing
capacity technology development relating to end use consumer
capacity,technologydevelopmentrelatingtoenduse,consumer
acceptanceofnewfuelandcostcompetitiveness

ChallengestotheDevelopmentofRenewableEnergy
(Continue)
FeedstockforBiofuelProduction
Diff
Differentfeedstockareusedforbiofuel
tf d t k
d f bi f l productionindifferent
d ti i diff
t
countries.Thegeneraltrendisthatcountrieschoosefeedstock
plants which are already being produced on large scales locally and
plantswhicharealreadybeingproducedonlargescaleslocallyand
whichhaveothercommercialvalueotherthantheproductionof
fuel.
InGhana,Palmoil,Jatropha curcus andSugarcaneoffersignificant
advantagesforbiofuel production.
CostCompetitivenessofBiofuel
The biofuel marketworldwideisnotwelldevelopedandbiofuels
Thebiofuel
market worldwide is not well developed and biofuels
arenotcompetitiveevenwithcrudeoilatUS$73.00perbarrel.
Theglobalmarketforbiofuel ispoliticallydrivenandreliesontax
rebates.

Conclusion
RenewableEnergycanbeharnessedtosupportandsupplement
conventionalenergysupply.However,significantcost,technology
ti
l
l H
i ifi t
t t h l
andattitudinalbarriersneedtobesurmountedbeforeany
meaningful penetration could be achieved.
meaningfulpenetrationcouldbeachieved.

THANKYOU

MinistryofEnvironment,ScienceandTechnology
(MEST)

MEST
Mandate
TheMinistryofEnvironment,ScienceandTechnologyismandatedbygovernmentto
supportnationalsocioeconomicdevelopmentgoalsforthecountrytoattainmiddle
t ti
l
i
i d l
t
l f th
t t tt i
iddl
incomestatusthroughthepromotionofscience,technologyandinnovation,human
settlementplanningandmanagementaswellassustainablemanagementofthe
environment at all levels of society and in all sectors of the
environmentatalllevelsofsocietyandinallsectorsofthe
economy.

Institutions

TownandCountry
Town
and Country
Planning
Department
(TCPD)

Environmental
ProtectionAgency
(EPA)

Councilfor
C
il f
Scientificand
Industrial
Research (CSIR)
Research(CSIR)

GhanaAtomic
Ghana
Atomic
Energy
Commission
(GAEC)