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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICYMAKING TRAINING MANUALpage 9.94“... to contribute to the development of a sound and well regulated commercialenergy market that will provide sufficient, viable, efficient and least cost energyservices for social welfare and economic activities through the formulation of acomprehensive plan that will identify the optimal path for the development, utilisationand efficient management of the country’s energy resources.” 8The document identifies the following RETs as viable projects that warrant attention: Solar water heaters; Biomass—charcoal kilns, sawdust briquetting, biomass gasification, palletizing,biogas plants, pyrolysis; Grid/off grid solar systems; Grid/off grid wind turbines; Off-grid small hydro; Landfill gas power plants.Renewable energy contributes an insignificant part of electricity supply in Ghana.For example, by 2001, the estimated over 4,000 off-grid PV systems installednationwide had a total capacity of 1MW, compared to the grid capacity of over1,700 MW in 2003. 9 Besides the major hydroelectric plants, electricity generatedfrom RETs is used at the individual household or institution level, and does notenter the supply grid. The different renewable energy technologies and accordingcase studies in Ghana are described below.3.1. BiomassThe combustion of biomass is the primary means of energy for most of theGhanaian population. In the rural areas, fuel wood for cooking accounts for57 per cent and charcoal 30 per cent of energy consumption. Charcoal is also thefuel of choice for cooking in the urban areas. Efforts in the renewable energy fieldhave focused on developing and deploying new technologies to make biomasscombustion safer and more efficient.More advanced uses of biomass involve the conversion of biomass into otherforms before being used for energy generation. In ovens and furnaces, biomassis typically used in the form of charcoal, sawdust briquettes, and gas. Gas canbe generated directly for use in a gasification plant, or in a biogas plant. A smallnumber of biogas plants have been installed in Ghana, and the Kwame NkrumahUniversity of Science and Technology (KNUST) has built research prototypes ofviable biomass converters.8Strategic National Energy Plan 2000-2020 Technology Catalogue, April 2003.9Electricity Sector Overview; Ghana Energy Commission.
MODULE 9: RENEWABLE ENERGY: REGULATORY AND POLICY OPTIONSpage 9.95At least three palm-oil mills have biomass-fired power plants for generating electricityfrom palm fruit residues. These have a total generating capacity of 1.5 MW.Also, at least one sawmill runs a plant based on wood residue, while anothersuch plant lies abandoned. 10 According to the technology catalogue of SNEP, thereare many commercial biomass cogeneration plants available in Ghana, operatingmainly in off-grid locations.One of the most famous biogas projects in Ghana is the “Integrated Rural Energyand Environment Project” commissioned in 1990 at Appolonia in the Greater Accraregion. This pilot project was to produce biogas from human and animal waste,and the gas used to produce electricity and also for cooking. The system providedelectricity to five social centres, a school, 21 houses, and 15 streetlights.This project has shown itself to be unsustainable, and has come to a standstill. 11Recently, worldwide interest has been directed at biofuels. A promising plant isJatropha curcas, which grows in arid conditions and yields seeds that can beprocessed into biodiesel. This fuel has been shown to run in conventionalengines. Currently, a Jatropha oil-extracting project is running on a pilot basis inYaakrom in the Brong Ahafo region. In 2005, DaimlerChrysler and UNESCOannounced funding for a research project, Jatropha Energy Development for RuralCommunities in Ghana. The project will be undertaken by a team from KNUST andCambridge University and aims to establish a small-scale industry for the developmentof Jatropha diesel to serve rural communities. 12 The authors are unawareof any company that offers any biomass technologies for sale at this time.3.2. Solar electricitySolar photovoltaics (PVs) are by far the most popular renewable energy application.Solar electricity has been shown to be technically viable, but due to thehigh initial costs there has not been a widespread application of PV systemsnationwide. PV systems have been used to provide electric power mainly forhealth centres and for homes. Some PV systems have also been installed forcommercial applications such as telecommunication repeater stations, waterpumping, and battery charging. Furthermore, the solar lantern is quite wellreceived, and had the cost been lower, would have been a viable competitor to thekerosene lantern. In the urban areas, PV systems are often used in electricity backupsystems in areas where grid reliability is low. Also, a few wealthy individualsinvest in PV systems for their homes in order to diversify their energy sources.10Renewable Energy Development Programme, Draft National Renewable Energy Strategy, Ministry ofEnergy, Energy Commission, and DANIDA. October 2003.11E. K. Ackom, Technical & Economic Viability Analysis of Renewable Energy Technologies in Ghana.PhD Thesis. Brandenburg University of Technology, 2005.12www.mondialogo.org/106.html
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