According to Mr. Abdul Noor Wahab, Manager of Generations and Systems Planning, Volta River Authority, Ghana has transitioned from having a 100% hydro capacity to having a mix that is currently 63% thermal sources.
He claimed that as of the end of 2021, natural gas continued to be the leading cost factor for Ghana, followed by hydro, liquid fuel, and other sources.
Speaking at the Gas Accountants Business Summit, which was put on by the Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP), Mr. Wahab claimed the potential of hydro was constrained. His topic was “Ghana’s Energy Generation Mix and the Future Outlook.”
He explained that after Pwalugu’s 60 megawatts, Juale-90MW, and Western River’s about 340MW, available hydro potential in the country was limited.
He said there was potential for solar in almost every part of the country adding that its potential on average was at 15 to 18 percent capacity factor without battery storage.
Mr Wahab however noted that the cost of generation would increase significantly when four to six hours of battery storage was added.
He said wind potential was limited as the best wind speeds were along the coast, noting that the cost of generation from wind could be 10 US cents/kWh if funding at five percent or lower were available.
Mr Wahab said thermal had the highest prospect, easy to deploy, had combined cycles that required water for cooling, and could now be cooled by air, in addition to having competitive cost.
He said nuclear also had the potential to play an important role but has a high capital cost which was likely to affect its quantity in the future generation mix and thermal generation would dominate by 2040 with a component of about 88 per cent of the mix.
The Gas Accountants’ Business Summit was organised to discuss the natural gas business in Ghana and its related issues to achieve a financially sustainable energy sector.
The summit was on the theme; “The Role of Natural Gas on Ghana’s Sustainable Future,” which brought together accountants, lawyers, commercial experts, and other professionals within the energy sector.
Other presentations during the summit covered the Cash Waterfall Mechanism’s concept, accounting and implementation, Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), natural gas prospects for economic transformation, the future of Africa Gas in the global economy, and the outlook of ECG’s billing processes, and many others.