Comparing the Energy Use of 2 contrasting countries : Ghana & New Zealand

Ghana Factfile

Population : 24 million

Population Growth Rate : 1.9%

Av. Life Expectancy : 60 years

GDP : $ 1,800 p.a.

Environment Issues : Deforestation for fuelwood, severe drought in the north

New Zealand Factfile

Population : 4.2 million

Population Growth Rate : 0.9%

Av. Life Expectancy : 80 years

GDP : $ 28,000 p.a.

Environment Issues : Deforestation for timber, declining rainfall.

Industry

Transport

Agriculture

Residential

Other

Industry

Transport

3% Agriculture

7% Public Services

11% Residential 3% Other

GHANA NEW ZEALAND

(Wood) (Geothermal)

Energy Users

Energy Sources

Rank the dominant fuels for Ghana, and then for New Zealand in the lists above. How do you account for the differences?

Rank the Energy Uses for Ghana, and then for New Zealand in the lists above. How do you account for the differences?

What do you notice about the Total Energy Demand in both Ghana and New Zealand. What reasons can you suggest for this?

Main fuels Ghana

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Main fuels New Zealand

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Main Uses Ghana

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Main Uses New Zealand

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Energy Comparison

Ghana

Electricity Production : 8 billion kWh

Electricity Consumption : 7 billion kWh

Electricity Exports : 755 million kWh

Main source of electricity : HEP

Oil Production : 8,000 bbl/day

Oil Consumption : 50,000 bbl/day

Oil Imports : 46,000 bbl/day

Oil Proven reserves : 15 million bbl

Natural Gas Production : 0

Natural Gas imports/exports : 0

Natural Gas Proven Reserves : 27 billion cu m

Nuclear Power Stations : 0

New Zealand

Electricity Production : 42 billion kWh

Electricity Consumption : 40 billion kWh

Electricity Exports : 0

Main source of electricity : HEP & Geothermal

Oil Production : 48,000 bbl/day

Oil Consumption : 158,000 bbl/day

Oil Imports : 137,000 bbl/day

Oil Proven reserves : 55 million bbl

Natural Gas Production : 4.5 billion cu m

Natural Gas imports/exports : 0

Natural Gas Proven Reserves : 27 billion cu m

Nuclear Power Stations : 0

(figures have been rounded up or down)

Ghana : Energy Background

Despite its lack of coal, oil or gas and no nuclear power stations, Ghana was set to be the electricity power-house of West Africa.

In 1966 the Akosombo Dam was built on the River Volta, creating a huge reservoir – Lake Volta – which dominates the eastern side of the county. The HEP generate from this was intended to meet all Ghana’s needs, stimulate industrial investment in Aluminium smelting, and allow Ghana to export surplus electricity to the rest of W. Africa.

Fact-file : aluminium requires very high temperatures to smelt it from the Bauxite ore. Aluminium companies will look all over the world for sources of cheap electricity to set up aluminium smelters there.

Ghana : Energy Reality

The impact of the energy policy on Ghana has had mixed results :Ghana has been self-sufficient in electricity for over 40 years

Ghana exports surplus electricity to its neighbours Togo & Benin for profit

Ghana attracted industrial development with aluminium smelters

But there are a number of downsides too:

X The creation of Lake Volta flooded large parts of the country and 80,000 people had to be moved

X The man-made lake, one of the largest in the world, is silting up, becoming shallower and holding less water. The loss of silt entering the Gulf of Guinea at the mouth of the R Volta causes increased coastal erosion

X Climate change is having a serious effect on Ghana’s ability to produce HEP. Increased temperatures mean higher levels of evaporation, reducing the lake level. And a series of disastrous droughts in N. Ghana means the level of the lake has fallen below operating levels, causing electricity shortages and blackouts not just for Ghana, but for much of W. Africa.

The 1997/8 drought brought the lake to an all-time low resulting in power-cuts for up to 12 hours a day in Ghana. In 2001 the lake level was just above the minimum needed to generate electricity. This situation is likely to intensify as climate change reduces rainfall in N. Ghana (see BBC report)

Alternative Energy

China and India are both investing heavily in Ghana to produce crops for biofuel. The all-year high temperatures and tropical rain give great potential. A Mumbai chemical firm is investing in Jatropha crops to produce biofuel for the company. But this will take good quality farmland out of food production for Ghana.

Firms are also exploring the potential for solar-energy in Ghana – but at present no more than hand-held machines are in use helping doctors in remote rural areas.

Ghana : Future Energy Options

Fuelwood:

Already the largest single source of energy for many rural Ghanaians – collecting wood for fuel is leading to serious deforestation. The impacts are :

• Soil erosion

• Micro-climate changes with reduced transpiration less rainfall

• Low education levels as children spend time collecting fuelwood

• Loss of biodiversity in deforested areas. (see Oxfam website)

Oil Discovery

In 2007 substantial reserves of oil were discovered off the coast of Ghana. The prospect of finding this valuable supply may help Ghana deal with the crisis over HEP production. However, oil supplies in nearby Nigeria have caused issues:

• considerable pollution of coastal waters affecting coastal communities and fishermen

• increasing conflict between the growing wealthy and the persistently poor

• kidnapping of oil workers by rural gangs – ransomed for money from oil companies

• the world price of oil has to stay high to cover the expensive costs of oil extraction. At present world oil prices are low. (see BBC report)

New Zealand Energy Background

• Early 20th C. main energy source was Coal from local mines

• In the 1920s large HEP schemes made electricity widely available and by the 1950s was the main source of domestic electricity.

• In the 1960s the proposal to dam and raise the lake height by 30 m of Lake Manapouri in order to generate HEP for an Aluminium smelter was met with huge public protest & resistance, leading to the growth of the NZ environmental movement.

• First oil refinery built in 1967 using imported oil. In the 1970s NZ started exploiting its own small oil reserves

• In the 1970s NZ started exploiting its offshore natural gas fields

• In 1997 NZ signed the Kyoto Protocol agreeing to reduce CO2 emissions.

• Severe dry periods in 1992, 2001 and 2003 reduced NZ capacity to generate HEP, leading to country-wide electricity-saving schemes to reduce the risk of power-cuts.

Energy demand is growing – especially from Industry and Transport. Domestic demand is staying reasonably stable.

The major sources of energy are met by reliance on fossil fuels - oil, natural gas and coal (two thirds of NZ energy needs)

It imports nearly all its oil needs from the Middle East, SE Asia and Australia. Most of the oil NZ produces itself is exported (a small amount)

Local natural gas supplies are declining and cannot be relied upon for future needs (For the full Energy Report on New Zealand link here)

Wairakei Geo-thermal power station, N. Island New Zealand

Renewable Energy

in New Zealand• The many rivers in NZ – especially South Island, fed by heavy rainfall in winter, and melting glaciers in summer, helps generate vast amounts of HEP, producing an increasing proportion of NZs renewable energy

• 65% of NZ electricity comes from HEP – a very high renewable source figure compared with most other countries.

• Geo-thermal power is mainly used ‘directly’ (hot water piped to homes and greenhouses for horticulture) but is also used to turn turbines to generate electricity.

• There are potentially 126 sites on both North and South Island which could generate geothermal power – all associated with tectonic faults in this tectonic-activity-rich plate-edge location.

• A major new geothermal power station was opened in 2008, and this form of power is seen as the best option for meeting NZs growing demand for electricity, and meeting its CO2–reduction commitments.

• It has recently been found that prolonged use of geothermal energy sources reduces the temperature below ground and some of NZs best tourist attractions – geysers – are less powerful than they used to be.

• There is relatively little wind generation, biomass or solar energy used in NZ, though research is continuing into these energy sources.

Future Energy in New Zealand

The future energy strategy in NZ aims to meet the following needs:

• dependable supply – no power-cuts / blackouts / fuel shortages

• meeting increased demand for energy as NZ continues to develop

• reasonable cost – not relying on fuels likely to become scarce and therefore expensive

• local environmental impact – ensuring that energy generation doesn’t lead to environmental issues in NZ

• global environmental impact – reducing the CO2 footprint for the country as a whole and contributing to responsible energy policy

• sustainable – fuels which can be relied upon for a reasonable amount of time, and which don’t cause negative consequences.

The Energy Issues

• Transport is still heavily dependent on oil – nearly all of which is imported and will become more expensive

• Gas supplies will peak in the next few years and start to decline

• HEP is threatened by climate change and reduced rainfall leading to likely power shortages

• Geothermal energy has potential, but has environmental impacts

• NZ has substantial low-grade coal reserves – but burning this will go against CO2 commitments

• The NZ public are not very ‘energy-efficient’ after being used to decades of cheap, plentiful energy. (see BBC report)

The Energy Strategies

• Encourage use of public transport, ride-sharing, and home-working; develop vehicles which use a blend of oil and biofuels,

• Encourage energy companies to search for new gas fields

• Develop coal-fired power stations to use as ‘back-up emergency power’ in periods of low rainfall when HEP is reduced.

• Expand the use of geothermal energy

• Only use the coal as ‘last-resort’ energy production; invest in clean-coal technology and ‘carbon-capture’ techniques.

• Educate NZ business and public about the need for energy conservation e.g house insulation, more efficient heating systems

Ghana and New Zealand : Energy Policies Compared

What similarities exist between the Energy Situations in the 2 countries

What Difference exist between the Energy Situations in the 2 countries?

Ghana New Zealand

Which of the 2 countries is most likely to be affected by climate change…and why?