Abstract
This study evaluates the effect of energy efficiency and conservation on the Ghana National Grid. The motivation of this research study derives from the overwhelming lack of energy efficiency and conservation practices by consumers in Ghana while the existing generation continues to deplete with the increasing population and their growing energy needs. A survey was conducted on existing generation plants to assess their capacities and average power contributed to the national grid over a 6-month period. Energy efficiency and conservation awareness questionnaires was also administered to selected consumers to test their knowledge in energy efficiency and conservation. An energy audit and demand management program was established and implemented for a set of households, which were later audited, after a 3-month period to ascertain improvements in their energy consumption pattern. The study revealed that the implementation of energy efficiency and conservation measures led to a maximal reduction of energy consumed by 5.14% which is highly significant and subsequently led to positive economic and environmental implications. The study also found out that most of the respondents are unaware of energy efficiency and conservation measures; they make abusive use of non-efficient electrical appliances and do not implement any energy efficiency and conservation measures. The study recommended the development of policies and strategies to conduct mass education, to ensure the implementation of energy efficiency and conservation measures, and also to encourage the use of energy-efficient appliances. Successful implementation of the proposed recommendations contribute significantly to meeting the energy challenge in developing countries and subsequently sustain business while alleviating poverty.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Acakpovi Amevi, Botwe-Ohenewaa Gifty, and David Mensah Sackey. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Amevi Acakpovi and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 Generation plants and their contributions to the grid
1. Akosombo Hydro Power Station
The construction of the plant started in 1961, by an Italian consortium, Impregilo, and was completed in 1966. In 1961, the Dam has a 640 m crest length and 141 m high. The project was financed by International Bank for Reconstruction & Development, United Kingdom Government, Export & Import (Exim) Bank, United States (US) Aid, and Ghana Government at a total cost of $196,000,000. The Volta River Authority (VRA) was established by Ghana’s Parliament through the passage of the Volta River Development Act. The VRA’s fundamental operations were structured by six Board members and Kwame Nkrumah as chairman. The VRA’s primary task is to manage the development of the Volta River Basin, which included the construction and supervision of the dam, the power station, and the power transmission network. It has a six generators units rating of 179.5 MVA at 14.4 kV, 0.95 PF manufactured by General Electric, Canada with an outdoor 3 phase unit transformers rated − 200/MVA, 14.4/161 kV Cooling-OFAF manufactured by Areva, Turkey (Volta River Authority, 2020).
The dam was built between 1961 and 1965. Its development was undertaken by the Ghanaian government and funded 25% by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development of the World Bank, the US, and the UK (Hensengerth, 2017).
The dam is 660 m long and 114 m, comprising a high rock-fill embankment dam. It has a base width of 366 m and a structural volume of 7,900,000 m3. The reservoir created by the dam, Lake Volta, has a capacity of 148 km3 and a surface area of 8502 km2. The lake is 400 km long. The maximum lake level is 84.73 m and the minimum is 73.15 m. On the east side of the dam are two adjacent spillways that can discharge about 34,000 m2 of water. Each spillway contains six 11.5–meter wide and 13.7-m tall steel floodgates (Volta River Authority, 2020).
2. Bui Hydropower Generation Plant
The Bui Dam is a 400-MW hydroelectric project in Ghana. It is built on the Black Volta River at the Bui Gorge, at the southern end of Bui National Park. The project is a collaboration between the government of Ghana and Sino Hydro, a Chinese construction company. Construction on the main dam began in December 2009. Its first generator was commissioned on 3 May 2013, and the dam was inaugurated in December of the same year (Hensengerth, 2017).
Unit 3 was connected to the grid on 3 May 2013; units 2 and 1 were commissioned by the end of November 2013. The Bui Dam is a gravity roller-compacted concrete type with a height of 108 m above the foundation and 90 m above the riverbed. The crest of the dam is 492 m long and sits at an elevation of 185 m above sea level (ASL). The main dam’s structural volume is 1 million m3. Southwest of the dam two-saddle (or auxiliary) dams maintain pool levels and prevent spillage into other areas of the basin. The dam rises 37 m above ground level and has a crest length of 300 m southwest of the main dam is Saddle Dam. This dam is a zoned earth-fill type with a height of 7 m ASL and a crest length of 580 m (Bui Power Authority, 2020).
3. Takoradi International Company
Takoradi International Company is a 220-MW simple cycle plant. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Ghana. Takoradi International Company operates as a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC. Takoradi 2 is an extension to the Takoradi thermal power station. A combined cycle power plant fully owned by VRA. The plant is commissioned in 2013. Ninety percent of the plant is owned by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) and 10% by Ghanaian generating company Volta River Authority (VRA) (Volta River Authority, 2020).
4. CenPower
In 2010, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) acquired a controlling stake in CenPower, becoming the project lead developer and lead arranger. AFC joined the founding shareholders which established CenPower Holdings Limited (CHL). As lead project developer, AFC had overall responsibility for all project activities and the management. In September 2014, InfraCo transferred its interests in CenPower to Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese investor company who became the second-largest shareholder of CenPower Generation Company Limited after Africa Finance Corporation.
5. Cenit Energy Limited
CENIT Energy Limited (CEL) is a wholly owned Ghanaian company. A special purpose investment vehicle is owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). Tema CENIT Thermal Power Plant (TCTPP) began commercial operations in October 2012. The net output of the plant is 110 MW. The plant consists of one open-cycle General Electric frame 9171E Gas Turbine and including all associated Balance of Plant (BOP).
The TCTPP is designed to generate power over a 25-year period and is situated at the Tema Thermal 1 Power Plant (TT1PP) (CENIT Energy, 2020).
An Interconnection Agreement between CEL and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) allows the power generated by the CEL plant to be exported onto the national grid. Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Services for the CEL plant is being provided by GTS Engineering Services Ltd, a wholly owned Ghanaian engineering company (CENIT Energy, 2020).
6. Asogli Power Plant
Sonon Asogli Thermal Power Station, also Asogli Thermal Power Station, is a 200-MW (270,000 hp) natural gas-fired thermal power station in Ghana. It is located in the Kpone neighborhood of the port city of Tema. The power plant came online in 2010. It is privately owned by Sonon Asogli Power (Ghana) Limited. The Shenzhen Energy Group Limited maintains 60% shareholding and the remaining 40% is owned by China Africa Development Fund. Installed capacity is 200 MW (Kumi, 2017).
7. Ameri Power Plant
The AMERI power plant in Ghana is an emergency power plant. It commenced commercial operations in February 2016. The power plant is, however, expected to provide an additional 250 MW of power to the national grid. The plant was arranged under a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) agreement with Africa and Middle East Resources Investment Group (AMERI Energy). The agreement expects AMERI Energy to install 10 gas turbines together with all equipment and provided some services related to the operation and maintenance of the plant for a period of five years (Kwawukume, 2018). The power plant has 10 units and five transformers with each unit have the capacity to generate 24 MW. Each transformer is capable to support two units while the power that would have been generated will be evacuated through the 161-kV substation to interface with the existing network. The plant relies on the supply of natural gas from the Atuabo gas processing plant for the generation of power (Aklorbortu, 2015).
8. Kpone Thermal Plant
Kpone thermal power station II, Kpone independent thermal power station, is a 340-MW (460,000 hp) multi-fuel-fired thermal power station under construction in Ghana. CenPower Holdings, an independent power producing company comprising local Ghanaian shareholders, African Finance Corporation (46%), and InfraCo Limited (24%), own the power station. Power generated by this station is sold directly to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), for integration into the Ghanaian national electricity grid (Volta River Authority, 2020).
9. Tema Thermal Plant
Tema Thermal Power Station is a 236 MW (316,000 hp) diesel fuel-fired thermal power station in Ghana. It was constructed in two stages. The first stage, known as TTPS1, with a capacity of 110 MW, owned by the Volta River Authority (VRA), was commissioned in 2008. The first stage consists of 25 Caterpillar 3516B diesel generators, each rated at 2000 kVA.
The second stage-TTPS2, commissioned in 2012 as a privately owned power project, with a capacity of 50 MW, consists of 12 Caterpillar 3516 TA diesel generators, each rated at 1750 kVA. CENIT Energy Limited (CEL) owns it. CEL’s sole shareholder, CENIT Investment Limited, is an investment company, wholly owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), a Ghanaian enterprise. The power plant is connected to the electricity grid in Ghana and supplies energy to Tema and Accra (Volta River Authority, 2020).
10. Karpowership
Powerships are barge or ship-mounted floating power plants. Karpowership Powerships are all-in-cost fast-track solutions that can operate on heavy fuel oil and natural gas. As part of the 2015 agreement, Karpowership Ghana is expected to provide a total of 470-MW capacity, to directly feed into the national grid for a period of 10 years (Glover, 2017). The 470-MW Powership supply at a lowest cost to the country for thermal power generation. Per the agreement, the Powerships will initially use low sulfur heavy fuel oil (HFO) to generate electricity but it will be converted to natural gas as soon as local natural gas supplies become available (Karpowership, 2020) (Tables 8, 9).
Appendix 2 Energy efficiency and conservation awareness questionnaire
Appendix 3 Auditing of energy consumption of respondents
Appendix 4 Pictures of selected houses in Ghana
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Acakpovi, A., Botwe-Ohenewaa, G. & Sackey, D.M. Impact of energy efficiency and conservation programs on the national grid in some selected households in Ghana. Energy Efficiency 15, 5 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-021-09998-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-021-09998-1