KsTU Undertakes a Hybrid-Waste-To-Energy Project to Control Ghana’s Energy, Sanitation Problems

As nations across the world continue to embrace the concept of waste as a resource to cherish and not to discard, Ghana is also coming up with initiatives that will not only improve the sanitation situation, but also contribute to sustainable industrial development.

The Kumasi Technical University(KsTU) is embarking on  a new  sustainable power solution project  with 400 kilowatts (KW) of renewable energy.

The objective is to develop tailor-made solutions to tackle the problem of waste and power management in Ghana by converting household refuse into valuable energy. The project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The Initiative, dubbed: " Hybrid Waste to Energy(W2E) as a Sustainable Solution for Ghana", tries to foster ideas for waste segregation and the conversion of various fractions into energy  by utilizing biogas, pyrolysis and sun oriented photovoltaic(PV) Technologies. It will contribute to among others the accomplishment of Ghana's Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) focus in energy, create business models which will successfully replicate and propagate this model all over Ghana and environmental change.

The project is being facilitated by the Department of Chemical Engineering (MTech in Chemical Engineering), and the Department of Civil Engineering (MTech in Water and Environmental Engineering), and Coordinated by the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency-Kumasi Technical University (CREK-KsTU).

Speaking at a stakeholders workshop on Tuesday, 16th November 2021. The project coordinator, Dr Julius Ahiekpor, said the novel 400Kw power hybrid waste to energy treatment facility that combines solar PV, biogas and pyrolysis technologies to treat municipal solid waste and also generate power is being constructed and it is expected to be cloned in 10 districts across the nation. The project will contribute to the inclusion of renewable energy in Ghana’s electricity generation mix and the country’s climate change mitigation strategy.

He added that a multi-purpose facility is currently in progress at Gyankobaah in the Atwima Nwabiagya Municipality in Ashanti region and was expected to be completed by next year for the project to be effectively executed.

On behalf of KsTU, Dr Ahiekpor, expressed gratitude toward the local authorities of Gyankobaah for delivering such a sizable land for the project, which he said even gives space for future expansion. He added that once the project is executed in 2024, the University will hand it over to experts in the private sector to manage the plant for its continued operation.

On his part, Mr Ohene Kwasi Akuffo, the Programs Officer, Energy Commission, commended the project and referenced that the 12,000 tons of waste produced day by day in Ghana would be effectively utilized and provide employment. He said the Energy Commission was focused on creating and developing policies and systems for every renewable Resources and was settled in handling issues of changing consumption ways and negative attitudes of the energy users which just brought about wastage and high energy utilizations costs.

The project is expected to make a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the beneficiary community directly. The running of the plant is expected to generate a minimum of about 10 directly employed personnel. The number of persons employed is expected to increase to about 50 when the full value chain both anaerobic digestion and thermal processes are developed and propagated in to various regions. The project is a collaboration between the German Government, who is funding the project to a tune of 5.8 million Euros, and the Government of Ghana. The project is expected to be executed in four years.

Additionally present at the workshop were the Vice-Chancellor, KsTU, Ing. Nana Prof. Osei-Wusu Achaw who served as the chairman of the programme,   Prof. Robert Nagre, the Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology. Different speakers included Dr Portia Adade Williams and Mr Johnny Owusu-Arthur, both Research Scientists, CSIR-STEPRI; and Dr Mizpah A.D. Rockson, KNUST.