Pres inaugurates Kpong Generation Station Retrofit Project …to cut carbon emissions by 400,000 tons

The President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commissioned a rehabilitated Kpong Generation Station Retrofit Project (KGSRP) which aims to, among other things, cut the carbon emissions of the plant by 400,000 tons. 

The newly commissioned plant at Akuse in the Eastern Region is expected to operate in an efficient and reliable manner to produce clean energy

The electromechanical components of the four generating units of the Kpong Generating Station have been upgraded to bring the station to a new condition to ensure that it operates efficiently for the next 30 years. 

The project forms part of the President’s commitment to take practical and proactive steps to mitigate the impact of climate change on the planet. 

President Akufo-Addo also launched the  distribution of the 500,000 improved cookstoves project to provide clean cooking solutions by scaling up the use of LPG in households. 

“I am happy to inform you that significant progress has been made, and very soon the programme for the LPG cylinder recirculation model, which will ensure wider use of LPG throughout the country, will be launched.”

“Since it will be difficult to have all households switch to the use of LPG, in the short term, our strategy is to promote the use of two million improved and efficient wood-fuel stoves as an interim measure, until such time that all households eventually migrate to LPG or electricity as main cooking fuels,” he said 

President Akufo-Addo explained that the use of these improved and efficient charcoal stoves, coupled with the ongoing reafforestation programmes, has the potential to reduce significantly the emission of carbon dioxide and the rate of deforestation in the country.

He thanked the East-West Power Corporation, the Climate Change Centre (CCC), and the Government of South Korea, for providing the grant funding of US$5,500,000.00 to produce locally and distribute 500,000 improved charcoal stoves in Ghana in exchange for carbon credit to offset their carbon dioxide emissions. 

This, he added, is a win-win situation for the parties involved, and, by far, the largest certified emission reductions intervention in Ghana and West Africa. 

“The five hundred thousand improved cookstoves would be distributed to beneficiary households in all the sixteen (16) regions of the country, using the distribution systems adopted by the government of Ghana and the Korean investors. This is just phase one. Phase two, which consists of another 500,000 units is being developed for funding, so as to ensure that as many households as possible receive the improved cookstoves,” President Akufo-Addo said.

In all, it is expected that some one million tonnes of carbon dioxide savings over the project life will be realised, and contribute to the improvement of the overall carbon footprint of Ghana. 

“In terms of the creation of job opportunities, about two hundred direct jobs have been created by this project alone in Ashiaman, Komkope, Mobole, Achimota, Kasoa, Weija, Cape Coast, and Kumasi, where artisans were engaged in the production of the various components of the stoves. This is expected to increase to some one thousand (1,000) direct jobs, as we scale up,” President Akufo-Addo said. 

He, therefore, urged everyone working on the project to do so diligently, so that “we can leverage investments to grow the cookstoves manufacturing industry, increase access to improved cooking solutions, and maximise the benefits for our socio-economic development”.

The Minister of Energy, Mr John Peter Amewu said the government was committed to ensuring Ghanaians enjoy constant supply of electricity.

He added the project would ensure low cost hydro energy per anum to the national grid.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour said the completion of the project is an indication of the President’s commitment to ensure unreliable supply of power to Ghanaians. 

“You have indeed shown this by putting in place sound and prudent management policies in the energy sector to make the dumsor pinnacle a thing of the past,” he said.

FROM YAW KYEI AND AMA TEKYIWAA AMPADU AGYEMAN, AKUSE