The load shedding exercise which was suspended because of the Golden Jubilee celebrations has resumed since last week.

The water level in the Volta Lake continues to shrink, and businesses are feeling the pinch of the energy crisis.

To protect the Akosombo Dam against a total shutdown, the Volta River Authority is turning increasingly to thermal energy sources to deal with the situation.

That means burning diesel, coal, natural gas and other fossil fuel.

But some critics are calling the plan short-sighted and are asking government to invest in renewable energy instead.

The worsening energy crisis is forcing home owners and businesses to find their own power. Some businesses are buying generators, others building their own plants.

VALCO, the country’s largest aluminum smelter, which is now shut due to the power shortage, has plans to build its own generating station.

According to Dr. Charles Mensah, Chief Executive of VALCO, the company hopes the plant will be up and running within two years. When it is, the plant will be powered by coal.

VALCO’s move mirrors the wider strategy by government, which is moving Ghana towards greater reliance on fossil fuels.

Disagreement

	VALCO, grounded for lack of electricity.

But critics argue that the transition to thermal power will not solve the country’s energy problems. Coal, diesel, oil, and natural gas all fluctuate at the whims of the international commodity markets. And their supplies are finite.

Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby, former Chief Executive of the VRA maintains it is not the best of options.

“We don’t have oil here and therefore we have to import, even gas has to be imported. The price of gas is related to the price of oil so as oil goes up, price of gas will also go up so the economics of renewables such as bio-fuels become more and more competitive.”

Wereko-Brobby says the country should be looking to renewable forms of energy such as wind, solar, and bio-fuels. He says government must get behind the efforts and invest in developing the renewable sector.

“It’s more than realistic. It is a question of putting our noses to the grind and in doing some realistic technical assessment of the cost. We use diesel for example most of the transportation here and it is arguable that if the cost of oil goes up the price of bio-fuel will be competitive on price and also competitive in terms of making our contribution in making our contribution towards reducing global warming.”

Steward Gold, who runs a Ghana-based organization that promotes awareness of climate change, agrees. He says the country should not be investing in old fossil fuel burning technology, which is expensive and polluting.

“When NASA fires a rocket at a comet, they point to the position where the comet will be. Technology in third world countries should be doing the same thing. Look where technology is going, rather than trying to play catch up all the time, which is generally what is happening in Africa.”

Steward Gold says the way of the future is micro-generation; a de-centralized approach to power-generation whereby homes, businesses and villages produce and contribute power to the grid – using solar, wind, and other non-polluting sources of energy.

For now, however, more and more power continues to come from humming generators… and as the rolling blackouts go on and the levels of the Volta Lake decline, you can expect to hear more of them firing up soon.

Written by Israel Laryea, Joy News