Ghana's Infrastructure - Electricity

Electricity generation is one of the key factors in order to achieve the development of the Ghanaian national economy-- allowing for rapid industrialization. Ghana has an immense need for electrification, particularly for its residents in rural areas who are still not on the grid. So, what are  possible sources for electricity; preferably those that cost the least in terms of environmental and economic cost? In short, hydro-power.

The map to the right showcases Ghana's most important river system, the Volta river. The Volta river system is made up of primarily three different drainage basins: 1) the white river referring to the sediments that the river carries, 2) the red river most likely referring to the predominant red color that also can be seen in the soil (more iron oxides, and 3) the black river most likely referring to the dark color that tannins from bark and leaves give the water. While Ghana has other rivers, none of them can come close in water capacity and thus in potential output of hydroelectricity than the system described above.

The map to the right shows the location of the three dams the country has. The Akosombo dam created lake Volta, the dam downstream from there, Kpong dam, was built because of its water capacity. The third and last dam to be built is the Bui dam.  


Overall, much of Ghana's electricity comes from hydro-power; there is a plan at work to produce more than 10% of the national energy from renewable energy resources (not counting hydro) by 2020.

Ghana's options for hydroelectricity are unfortunately limited; the third and possibly last hydro-dam was finished in February 2014 AND we got to see it.

Bui Dam, on grid as of February 2014

This might be the last hydro-dam to be built in the country because all other possible proposed sites do not yield nearly as much energy as these three mentioned above.

Here we are from left to right:
Judy, Cass, me, Kwame and one administrator

Actually we were a group of eight in the van but the others did not appear for the photo.

View onto the resulting reservoir lake:

Overall, about 1,200 people had to be resettled; they all received a new house with one room more than what they originally had and a piece of land not to exceed 5 acres even if they had more land than before. They have now well-dug fresh water and most likely electricity which is not the norm in this remote part of the country. They do not have fishing rights yet but will get those as soon as the construction of the dam is 100% finished. The generated electricity is fed into the national grid for consumption for all.

Ghana's national electric grid looks like this (map to the right). Most of the electricity is generated and used in the south of the country, the Bui dam is the only one in the northern part of the country. 

According to a wikipedia website Ghana  has been an electricity exporter since 2007 and  an exporter of crude oil and natural gas since 2011.

50% of the electricity goes to the residents, leaving about 47% for industrial and commercial consumption. Some of the electricity gets lost in transmission also.