The financial meltdown has not seemed to hinder investor appetite in the Ghanaian biofuel sector. The country’s attraction may be attributed to a variety of reasons including Ghana’s alternative energy priority which has an emphasis on the cultivation of jatropha for the eventual production of biofuels.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environment Studies conducted a study in 2007 that listed Ghana, Thailand, and Uruguay as becoming the lead producers of biodiesel feedstocks. One of the factors that put Ghana among the leaders with a high potential for biodiesel production is the fact that large volumes of the product can be produced at low cost.
Overall, the study ranked Malaysia, Thailand, Colombia, Uruguay, and Ghana as the developing nations most likely to attract biodiesel investment, not only because of their strong agricultural industries, but also due to their relative safety and stability, and lack of debt, among other economic factors.
Companies from countries like Brazil, Italy, Norway, Israel, China, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and India are among some of Ghana’s top investors. Notably, Brazil has a high production of biofuels from ethanol while Israel also excels in jatropha growth and cultivation.
One of the companies, Agroils of Italy, is currently cultivating jatropha on 10,000 hectares of land in Yeji in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana for the biofuel industry. Israeli company Galten has acquired 100,000 hectares of land and an Indian company is requesting 50,000 hectares of land from the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) to cultivate jatropha. In addition, a company from the Netherlands has started a pilot project on 10 acres in the northern region and the Chinese are also undertaking a pilot project.
Rolex Replica Gold Star Farms Ltd. is cultivating five million acres of land to plant jatropha for the production of biofuels for export along with Norwegian company ScanFuel Ltd., which has started operations outside Kumasi in the Ashanti region to produce biofuel feedstock crops. The company aims to start initial cultivation of jatropha seeds on 10,000 hectares of land. The company which has a Ghanaian subsidiary, ScanFuel Ghana Ltd., said its Ghanaian unit has contracted about 400,000 hectares of land, with up to 60% reserved for biofuel crop production, not less than 30% for food production, and the remainder for biodiversity buffer zones.
Another Norwegian company, Biofuels Africa Ltd., the only one among the about 20 biofuels companies cultivating jatropha to receive an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) permit from Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Biofuels Africa’ is operating in two locations and the project area covers over 23,762 hectares of land.
Ghana is clearly attractive for investment, especially in the biofuels sector, but questions linger. Ghana has stumbled upon oil and as many analysts have noted, this usually decreases alternative/renewable energy efforts.
Alternative Energy Africa says: Why question Ghana’s tenacity to increase its alternative energy supply even with the discovery of crude? The country is stable and appears to be a lucrative investment for all parties involved – sounds like a win/win.