General News of Monday, 4 March 2013
Source: CPP
Nuclear energy, solar and wind power and biofuels, among other innovative power solutions, are Ghana’s answer to solving the persistent power crisis, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has said.
“Failure is not an option” when it comes to overhauling the country’s power sector, according to a statment titled Ghana’s Energy Crisis – The CPP’s Blueprint which was released today by the CPP’s energy spokesperson, Robert Woode.
The party said the current power situation is hurting local industry, forcing foreign companies to relocate outside of Ghana and causing industrialists to lose out because of higher production costs associated with water and power shortages.
The party said Ghana must also harness crude oil production, not just as a fuel, but to use it for value-added products such as tyres, soaps and petroleum jelly to generate income.
“Ghana should…take maximum advantage of the newly discovered oil reserves to ensure that the product benefits the entire population; downstream value addition should be our first option. This will avoid the so-called curse of crude oil. Many products can be derived from crude oil,” according to the party.
“We have struck oil, yes, but the only way to prevent an oil curse is to go for the value addition chain in order to spread the wealth base. We must use the biofuel for power and energy and multiply our revenue through a value addition chain of crude oil. We must go in for meticulous planning with quantifiable targets, ingenuity, and endeavor, backed by uncompromising determination.”
The CPP also said energy generated from animal waste and atomic and nuclear energy were viable options to increase the country’s power capacity.