Ghana is seeking investors for wind and tidal wave energy potential to increase its renewable portfolio.
That will also increase the country’s total installed capacity to the national grid, serve more unserved communities, reduce greenhouse gasses in the energy sector, and honour international commitments.
Mr. Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, the Director at AT Consult, a sustainable Energy Consulting, firm disclosed to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the 15th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi.
Under the theme, “Accelerating the Renewable Energy Transition – The Way Forward,” the two-day meeting brought together ministers and high-level delegates from IRENA’s 139 Member States, academia, development banks, chief executives and youth, to enhance wider, cross-sectoral collaboration on the energy transition.
Mr. Ahiataku-Togobo hinted that studies on wind energy potential had been conducted at 13 areas of which results showed that the wind speeds ranged from good to moderate along the coast from Tema to Aflao.
“The necessary wind speed measurements have been done, and locations where the wind speeds can easily be installed to give moderate to good power have been identified. It is now open for prospective investors to come and invest.
“From the coast of Tema down to Aflao, the land is very plain, and there are no big tall trees, and no mountains on the way. So, those were the areas that were found to have moderate to good wind speed and easy access for the installation of utility-scale wind power plants,” he added.
Mr. Ahiataku-Togobo, who is the immediate past Director of Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy and the Bui Power Authority, stated that significant progress had also been made in the area of wave energy and that it would be included in the country’s energy mix in the immediate future.
He expressed the hope that the country, by the close of the year (2025), would have the first five megawatt wave system in place.
Ghana’s total Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions recorded a three-fold increase, from 1990 to 2022, driven largely by energy sector growth, the latest Ghana’s Sixth National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report by the Environmental Protection Agency has revealed.
Energy is dominated by fuel combustion; the sector’s emissions surged nine-fold from 1990 to 2022.
In the same period, stationary combustion significantly increased by 847.0 per cent.
Both energy sources were driven by increase in the number of vehicles and a shift from fuel oil to natural gas in electricity generation.
Similarly, GHG emissions from oil and gas also significantly increased due to the increased expansion of the industry (production and development) since commercialization in 2012.
Since 2012, the emissions have risen by 498.9 per cent relative to the 2022 levels.
Mr. Ahiataku-Togobo, and other energy experts with deep insight in the sector, they were of the strong view that policy directions to increase renewable energy projects, the inclusion of nuclear power as the energy baseload, would reduce emissions in the sector.
He said that increasing access to cheap power would support Ghana’s planned transition from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to the use of electronic vehicles and encourage electric cooking.
Source: GNA
