Without Affordable Electricity, One District One Factory Will Fail – Kofi Anokye

Chief Executive Officer of Koans Building Solutions, Kofi Anokye has called on the Nana Addo led NPP government to consider recycling the Akosombo Dam to ensure a cheaper source of energy for successful implementation of the One District One Factory initiative.

Speaking at the International Press Centre to school the media on his long propagated idea of getting what behind the Akosombo Dam through recycling, the Real Estate Developer indicated that getting Akosombo Dam to operate at full capacity and augmenting it with mini hydro Dams across the country with his recycling concept incorporated in the design will guarantee the nation a cheaper and reliable energy

Mr Anokye who was very vocal during the worse days of dumsor in the former administration is on record to have suggested the idea of pumping water behind the Akosombo Dam to ensure the Dam operates at full capacity.

At the time, he predicted that bringing the power plants will effectively end the reign of President Mahama, make industries suffer, put burden on households, polute our environment and possibly affect the nation’s rainfall pattern because the power plant is position where rain formation first takes place in the country.

He issued a statement to explain why expensive energy will hurt the One District One Factory and how getting the Akosombo Dam operating at full capacity will save the initiative

In the statement, he explained in details the recycling project

Portions of the Statement

I strongly believe that the ONE DISTRICT ONE FACTORY CONCEPT is achievable if and only if a cheaper source of electricity is made available; otherwise it will remain a mirage or be dead on arrival no matter how conducive the macroeconomic environment may be under your administration.

Why am I saying so? The simple reason is that, the cost of the electricity to power those machines are and will to be too high and this will definitely increase production beyond the consumer’s pocket.

Secondly there is the need for the product produced here to be able to withstand the competition from the external market otherwise external competition will become a big issue.

Of course you can as a policy decide to subsidize the cost in the short to middle term whiles your government continues to be in power but that is not sustainable and in the interest of this nation. Remember, we are building a very solid foundation for mother Ghana which posterity will be pleased with. Therefore, the factories we set up today must not die when your term of stewardship is over.

On his recycling

Let me get the Akosombo running at full capacity by installing electric pumps and pipes to pump water from the downstream of the dam to upstream to turn the idle turbines on at all times so we can get cheaper source of energy at all times no matter the season.

My research on the dam reveals that, each turbine is capable of generating 170 mega watts of power when in operation. In view of possible shortage of water at up stream however, the operators are forced to shut down some turbines due to inadequate water. My concept therefore seeks to ensure that water is always available behind the dam so that we don’t shut any of them down for this reason.

My further research has revealed that a maximum of only about 10 percent of the power generated will be used to power the electric pumps leaving the rest for supply. This variation is dependent on the pump brand and the distance of the pumping station from the Akosombo dam.

Estimated Cost

The estimated cost of this project per turbine is going to be between Thirty Five Million Dollars and Fifty Million Dollars depending on which water source we decide to draw from. Each turbine gives us 170 Mega Wats.

Conclusion

Ameri alone will cost us Five Hundred Million Dollars for 250MW minus fuel cost. The fact is power plants and barges rarely operate at full capacity. In view of this, Ameri will be producing at a maximum of around 190 MW or even less.

On the contrary, with adequate water, the Akosombo Dam has the capacity to operate at full capacity.

About Kofi Anokye

Kofi Anokye is the CEO of Koans Building Solution and a giant in the Real Estate Sector credited with the introduction of many innovations that have been adopted by almost every Real Estate Company in Ghana. He was the first Ghanaian to prove that bamboo has the same strength as iron rods when used for reinforcement.

He developed the concept of generating water in commercial quantity through the multiple borehole system.

In 2015, he was recognised by the World Business Assembly in the Golden European Award for his contribution and excellence in the Real Estate Sphere. He holds a number of international Awards and countless local ones.

His company, Koans Estate is one of the few companies inducted in the Ghana Property Hall of Fame

He is an Engineer by profession, legal expert and holds MBA in Project Management

Source: Peacefmonline.com