The kick-off and groundbreaking ceremonies for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded €5.8 million 400 kW Hybrid Waste to Energy (WTE) power plant construction to be situated at Atwima Nwabiagya in the Ashanti Region have taken place.
The project is expected to help close the carbon cycle by developing the value chain of the process with the production and utilization of compost, which would be sold to farmers to boost agriculture and cut down on mineral fertilizer whilst improving the soil structure.
The project is also expected to create opportunity for German small and medium scale enterprises to take advantage and extend their products and services in the area of waste to energy in Ghana. It would contribute to Ghana’s climate change mitigation strategy as well as to the inclusion of renewable energy.
It will among other things provide the blueprint for the propagation of 10 additional waste to energy facilities in Ghana, contribute to Ghana’s climate change mitigation strategy, contribute to the inclusion of renewable energy in Ghana electricity production mix and contribute to increasing access to electricity in Ghana.
The ceremonies, which were held in Accra and Kumasi under the auspices of the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in Ghana, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, were to mark the beginning of the research and the parallel design and construction of a 400 kW hybrid waste to energy power plant to treat municipal solid waste.
The entire project, has a heavy research component that will lead to tailor-made solutions for treating waste in Ghana.
During the kick-off meeting, His Excellency Christoph Retzlaff, the German Ambassador to Ghana, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), affirmed Germany as genuine partners in support of the development of Ghana.
He further stated that both countries benefited from added value through this cooperation, knowledge exchange and technology transfer.
He said “This is our contribution to clean air and waste-free streets in Ghana”.
He stressed the importance of Africa to Germany’s and Europe’s supply with sustainable energy.
Speaking at the kick-off ceremony in Accra, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, said the pilot plant was to be built and operated within the four-year life of the project, after which 10 more are expected to be built within the next 10 to 20 years in different regions.
At the sod-cutting ceremony at Gyankobaa, the Minister further declared the township of Gyakobaa as a future science and environmental hub in Ghana.
According to him, the project will contribute to the country’s quest in finding a long-term solution to the menace of solid waste by treating the waste and generating power from the treated waste.
This will be done through enhanced human resource capacity building, high level of research and development, and the piloting of a hybrid waste to energy plant which has the capacity of treating both the organic and plastic fractions to generate sustainable sources of energy and employment.
“This is an environmental and sanitation project, which would help us clean our environment and generate energy that would comprise solar, biogas and pyrolysis gas”.
He stressed the involvement of various sector Ministries, including the Local Government, Agriculture, Education, Energy and Sanitation in the implementation of this project to ensure success.
The project will be coordinated in Ghana by the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, WASCAL, while the University of Rostock will serve as the overall coordinator who will report to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research through its representative, the Project Management Agency Julich (PTJ).
