<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/04/ghana-lng-imports-fossil-fuel-debt>
"John Gakpo has milled corn to make kenkey – a cornmeal dumpling and Ghana’s
staple food – in a dimly lit wooden shack in a suburb of the capital, Accra,
for 15 years.
In the past, his earnings have been sufficient to provide for his family – but
not any more.
Once the poster-child economy for west Africa, Ghana is suffering from its
worst economic crisis in a generation. The debt-laden nation is gripped by
soaring inflation and a depreciating currency that has pushed it to default on
some of its debt payments.
“Times are hard,” said Gakpo. His electricity bill has doubled in a year. To
cope, he has had to cut back on buying food for his family.
Yet opposition politicians, energy analysts and local NGOs have warned that
plans to import liquefied natural gas (LNG), a fossil fuel, under a 17-year
agreement with oil giant Shell could make things worse.
The agreement, they say, could push up electricity prices, hamstring the
transition to renewable energy and perpetuate a cycle of fossil-fuel related
debt.
Ghana is heavily relying on gas to meet its growing power needs. Gas generates
half of its electricity, while less than 1% comes from solar.
The government argues importing LNG will shore up Ghana’s energy security,
power the country’s industrial development and displace dirtier and more
expensive heavy fuel oil.
Ghana’s electricity demand is projected to double between 2022 and the early
2030s. The project consortium says gas will need to meet virtually all of this
additional demand.
To do so, it is constructing a $400m (£316m) LNG terminal, funded by private
equity investors and supported by development finance institutions. Project
partners say the terminal could turn Ghana into a hub for providing LNG to the
west African market.
But critics have denounced the project as an example of how mismanaged gas and
power investments in Ghana are financially crippling the country and failing to
deliver reliable and affordable energy. They have urged the government to
suspend the project."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
