Energy efficiency management in an energy intensive industry

Abstract

The increasing energy crisis in Ghana and the environmental externalities associated with the use of conventional energy sources has called for this thesis to be conducted. In Ghana, there have been an ongoing crisis in the energy sector; more specifically supply security and quality of electricity delivery. Over the years, there has been a mismatch between demand and supply due to insufficient fuel supply constraints and uncertainties regarding rainfalls and water inflows into the Akosombo hydroelectric dam. The aforementioned issues have rendered the aluminium industry, particularly VALCO and Aluworks unable to meet their production targets. This research proposes a concrete solution by observing in a holistic point of view the actual situation facing the aluminium industry and the country at large, hence the topic: Energy efficiency in an energy-intensive industry- Case study VALCO and Aluworks, Ghana. The approach used for this research is a case study. Two companies are studied to ascertain their main issues and the challenges. Secondly, a questionnaire was prepared for these two companies followed by an extensive interview with the production managers. The outcome of the research shows that the main obstacles facing these companies were energy security. This means that there was an unreliable and inadequate supply of electricity from the Akosombo hydroelectric power plant. As a result, VALCO is currently using light crude and natural gas-fired power plant to augment its energy supply. In conclusion, implementation of energy efficiency technologies such as found in renewable energy can be used for these two companies and the whole country at large. Ghana has enormous renewable energy sources that are economically viable that are untapped thus establishing the use of a hybrid solution such as a combination of solar photovoltaic and hydroelectricity will help solve the electricity issues faced by VALCO and Aluworks