The local partners of the hybrid Waste-to-Energy pilot project has held a consultative meeting in Accra on February 16, 2021 to solicit views from stakeholders in renewable energy sector on the establishment of the project in the Ashanti region.
The 5.8 million Euro Waste-to-Energy (W2E) conversion plant project, will be situated at Gyankobaa, a major ginger producing area in the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipality in Ashanti Region. The pilot plant will use a hybrid solar PV, biogas and a pyrolysis plant to generate electricity from domestic waste.
The 400-kilowatt facility, known worldwide as the ‘Hybrid-PV- Biogas-Pyrolysis-Plant’, has the capacity to convert 12 tonnes of waste into bio fertilizer and energy daily and is being funded by the German government. And is being led by the university of Rostock-Germany and SRH-Belin with its Ghanaian partners such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology on Innovation, Kumasi Technical University (KsTU), Centre for energy, environment and sustainable development (CEESD GH), West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change (WASCAL) among others.
Speaking with Ign. Dr. Julius Ahiekpor, the Head of Bioenergy, Kumasi Technical University, he was hopeful that the successful completion of the four-year project will help to scale up to other communities across the country.
“The project’s success will not only help Ghana to address her energy and sanitation challenges but also encourage replication of the project nationwide,” he stated.
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Apart from creating more than 50 jobs for Ghanaians, Dr. Ahiekpor also said that the project will also include the training of post-doctorates, doctorates, masters’ students and 20 academics professionals on hybrid bio-gas pyrolysis systems.
He underlined that the 12,000 tonnes of waste generated annually by the Atwima Nwabiagya municipality would be put to good use and provide employment for the citizens. Meanwhile, the pilot plant needs just about 3,000 tonnes of waste per annum to run.
According Dr. Ahiekpor, all the stakeholders are willing to collaborate with each other to ensure the success of the project and the potential of building 10 more plants by 2040 on a large scale to generate between 1-5MW.
He therefore encouraged other partners not to see this as a competition part rather a partnership to solve both the power generation and sanitation problems of the country.
The project is seen as one of the remedies to Ghana’s waste management and power generation challenges, while generally reducing the health hazards from pollution and climate change.
It would also aid in waste reduction, diversify energy sources and supply, and create jobs for more than 50 people.
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