The Germany Government is supporting the Republic of Ghana with an amount of 6 million Euros to establish a 400 KW hybrid waste-to-energy (w2e) power plant to treat urban solid waste in the West African country.
The waste –to-energy power plant will sited in Atwima Nwabiagya in the Ashanti Region.
The project, is expected to help to address the menace of solid waste and also 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.
At a ceremony to launch the project in Accra, capital of Ghana, Ghana’s Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong –Boateng, said the Plant was expected to be built and operated within four years as a pilot, after which 10 or more are expected to be built within the next 10 to 20 years in different regions.
“We are involving all the universities that are engaged in energy production and the research institutions as well, who are expected to help lay the foundation that would help Ghana build its own energy systems in a few years’ time”, he said.
“It is an environmental and sanitation project, which would help us clean our environment and generate energy that would compromise solar and would involve various sector Ministries, including the Local Government, Agriculture, Education, Energy and Sanitation,’ he added.
The Minister described the project as a reflection of Ghana-German cooperation, which was also tightening relationship between the two countries.
He said the universities had a critical role to play to ensure that Ghana was able to turn its raw materials that were becoming a menace into a better source of alternative.
Mr Christoph Retzlaff, the German Ambassador said the project was being funded by the German government with an amount of six million Euros and would help create 50 new jobs in the Ashanti Region.
“We intend to partner our Ghanaian counterparts to set up 10 more hybrid waste to energy plants in Ghana and these would create about 1,000 new jobs in and be a sustainable solution for the waste disposable problems in the country” he said.
“It would save a lot of emissions and about 800,000 tonnes of harmful emissions could be save each year”.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com