Page 8 - AfrElec Week 43 2021
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AfrElec GAS-FIRED GENERATION AfrElec
Head of GGC touts role of gas in
African energy transition
AFRICA DR. Ben K.D. Asante, the CEO of Ghana Gas best bet,” he declared.
Co. (GGC), has said he believes natural gas will Asante went on to note that gas was cheaper,
play a prominent role during Africa’s transition as well as less polluting. If Ghana were to buy
to lower-carbon energy sources. enough gas to support 1,000 MW of electric-
Speaking at the 10th Ghana Economic ity generation capacity, he said, it would end
Forum (GEF 2021) last week, Asante stated that up spending $33.6mn per month and emitting
he did not expect the world to be able to shift to 1.3mn tonnes per year (tpy) of carbon diox-
renewable energy sources quickly. The process of ide. Buying petroleum products for the same
bringing net carbon emissions down to zero and purpose, by contrast, would cost $70.1mn per
phasing out fossil fuels is likely to take more than month and generate 7.5mn tpy of carbon diox-
two or three decades, especially in less developed ide, he explained.
countries, he said, according to a report from Also speaking at GEF 2021 was Gregory
GhanaWeb. Germani, the managing director of West Afri-
“I don’t think the transition period is going can Gas Pipeline Co. (WAPCo). He described
to end in 2040 or 2050. I think it’s going to be the transition to lower-carbon energy as a pos-
longer,” he commented. “I think fossil fuels [will] itive development and said he expected African
stick with us longer than some of the other coun- countries to show more interest in gas and pur-
tries are projecting.” sue more cross-border supply deals.
Under these circumstances, he continued, gas “We keep seeing across the globe ... the value
is on track to become the preferred fuel because of gas as a cleaner alternative as we transition,” he
it burns more cleanly than petroleum products, was quoted as saying by GhanaWeb. “We are see-
because it is more widely available and because ing a lot of drive to use that [gas] to create a win-
the necessary infrastructure is already in place. win situation for all stakeholders. We are hopeful
“[As] we transition, gas will trump oil. Gas is the of seeing more collaborations going forward.”
P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 28•October•2021
