K Poly holds workshop on biomass

A day's workshop on the need to adopt biomass as an alternative energy source in the face of the insurmountable energy crisis has been held at the Kumasi Polytechnic. The workshop, which was under the auspices of the Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the Kumasi Polytechnic attracted resourced persons from the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Energy and Natural Resources and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Rector of the Kumasi Polytechnic, Prof. Nicholas N.N.N. Nsowah-Nuamah, in his welcome address reiterated the pivotal role energy played in the attainment of each of the eight millennium development goals(MDG), stressing that if anything could elude Africa in the 21st century, it should not be the access to modern energy services.

Prof. Nsowah-Nuamah noted that it was in that direction that the Polytechnic had set up the Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, to train local entrepreneurs to take advantage of the numerous energy potentials available to the country and harness it for rapid socio-economic development.

He also hinted that in order for the polytechnic to be self-sufficient in energy using renewable energy the Technical University of Kumasi, which would be located at the new site at Kuntenase, would take off next year.

Prof. Akwasi Boateng, a Chemical Engineer at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), echoed the need for Ghanaians to device alternative sources of power supply, adding that relying solely on fossil fuel will do the country no good, as the population increased.

He said the overexploitation of fossil fuel, which was not renewable, could adversely affect the Ozone layer which attributes to global warming. That, he said, had resulted in flooding, rising sea level, and melting glaciers in other parts of the world. Moreover, he urged the citizenry to inculcate the culture of energy preservation by switching off all electronic gadgets when not in use.