Analysis of how VRA'S Thermal Plants waste the scarce natural gas resource

This gas supply and offtake report highlights gas flow rates and power generation loads for various power plants in Ghana. When examining the efficiency of gas use (in terms of power generated per unit of gas), it's clear that some plants are more effective at converting the gas resource into electricity than others.

Key Observations on Gas Resource Use:

1. VRA Takoradi (Simple Cycle)

• Gas Flow Rate: 114 MMSCFD

• Load (Power Generated): 508 MW

• Units: 5

• Efficiency: 4.46 MW per MMSCFD of gas

2. Karpowership (Takoradi)

• Gas Flow Rate: 43 MMSCFD

• Load (Power Generated): 241 MW

• Units: 1

• Efficiency: 5.60 MW per MMSCFD of gas

3. VRA Tema (Simple Cycle)

• Gas Flow Rate: 26 MMSCFD

• Load (Power Generated): 102 MW

• Units: 1

• Efficiency: 3.92 MW per MMSCFD of gas

4. SAPP (Tema)

• Gas Flow Rate: 55 MMSCFD

• Load (Power Generated): 302 MW

• Units: 1

• Efficiency: 5.49 MW per MMSCFD of gas

5. Cenit (Tema)

• Gas Flow Rate: 8 MMSCFD

• Load (Power Generated): 50 MW

• Units: 1

• Efficiency: 6.25 MW per MMSCFD of gas

6. ATPS (Kumasi)

• Gas Flow Rate: 33 MMSCFD

• Load (Power Generated): 143 MW

• Units: 6

• Efficiency: 4.33 MW per MMSCFD of gas

Comparative Efficiency of IPPs vs. VRA Simple Cycle Plants:

VRA Plants (Simple Cycle): VRA Takoradi and VRA Tema have efficiency ratios of 4.46 MW/MMSCFD and 3.92 MW/MMSCFD, respectively. This shows that these simple cycle plants are less efficient, generating fewer megawatts of electricity per unit of gas consumed.

IPP Plants (Independent Power Producers):

Plants like Karpowership, SAPP, Cenit, and Cenpower are much more efficient. For instance, Cenit is producing 6.25 MW per MMSCFD, Cenpower is at 5.94 MW/MMSCFD, and Karpowership generates 5.60 MW/MMSCFD.

Expert Judgement: The VRA simple cycle plants (Takoradi and Tema) are not maximizing the potential of the natural gas resource, as they generate lower power output per unit of gas compared to the more efficient IPPs.

IPP plants like CenPower, SAPP, and Karpowership demonstrate better gas optimization by producing more electricity per unit of gas consumed. This suggests that moving towards more combined-cycle or advanced gas turbine technologies used by IPPs could significantly improve the overall energy efficiency of the gas consumed in Ghana's power generation.

This efficiency gap demonstrates why a shift from simple cycle to combined cycle plants, especially for VRA operations, could be necessary for better gas resource management.