The University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) has appealed for international funding to support the physical infrastructure of its Level-Up Waste to Energy plant project.
Work on the project has stalled due to infrastructure challenges, Prof John K Kuwornu, Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University who made the appeal stated.
In December 2022, the University and partners cut the sod for a 2.5m euro energy plant project, which involves over 15 public, private, and international partners, to convert agricultural and forestry residues into electricity, cooking gas and fertilizer, among others.
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research funded project is aimed at a reliable and sustainable supply of renewable energy for the university and surrounding areas and the components of the project will include a solar drying plant, biomass gasification, a biomass fermenter, and an absorption chiller.
Prof Kuwornu regretted that lack of physical infrastructure at the university community had stalled the project, though the German partners were ready to install the machines and equipment for the project to take off.
He was speaking at a public lecture on the theme “Global Change; the Conscience of European Fossil Society,” organised by the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani, attended by students, climate experts, environmentalists and foresters.
Professor Engineer Michael Marek, the Director and Senior Research Scientist at the Global Change Research Institute Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe) hosted the lecture to expose the participants to the global climate change, mitigation and adaptation measures.
Describing the energy plant project as an initiative to supply energy to the university and surrounding areas, Prof Kuwornu said the institution required funding urgently, saying it was currently seeking international assistance to make the energy plant project a reality.
Besides, he said the academic institution was undertaking a similar project in Ashanti and it intended to launch another one at Sawla in the Savannah Region.
Another area the university is currently considering, Prof Kurwonu said, was the use of renewable energy.
He said the institution had already installed solar plants at some essential buildings.
He said plans were far advanced for the School of Energy to hold an international conference in 2024 to assess the possibility of switching to renewable energy.
In an open forum, many of the participants expressed concern about the rapid depletion of the nation’s forest reserves due to uncontrolled illegal chainsaw operations and asked the Forestry Commission (FC) to be proactive enough to tackle the menace.
According to Dr Emmanuel Minkah, the Scientific Secretary at the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, some forest reserves meant for research academic research work were being encroached and exploited for commercial purposes, and therefore, called on the FC to do more to protect such reserves.
He also called on the FC to ensure that timber contractors and merchants’ plant and nurture trees whenever they fell lumber to sustain the forest.
Responding, Mr Augustine Gyedu, the Bono Regional Manager of the FC, emphasised the Commission alone could not shoulder the responsibility of protecting the nation’s forest reserves from wanton destruction, and called on everybody to support the commission.
“As for the felling of trees we can’t stop that because people and institutions continue to put up buildings and physical infrastructure, however we must all support to promote forest sustainability,” he stated.
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