(NEWS) “Gold Fields plans to establish a 10 to 15 MW biomass energy plant in Ghana on the boundary of its Tarkwa mine in the country. All the power generated at the plant would be used by the mining operation.”
News
How Charcoal Fuels Irregular Armed Groups
President Barack Obama announced Friday (July 2oth) that the US was banning the sale of charcoal from Somalia to third countries. The effort is intended to deprive the Somali-based, Al-Quaeda affiliate, Al-Shabaab, from important revenue collected from the export of Somali charcoal to countries in the Gulf region.
NEWS: Nigeria: Growing Danger of Charcoal Smuggling
This increasing demand for charcoal as an alternative source of fuel in homes and some industries in Nigeria has snowballed into a smuggling ring across national borders, further destroying the already diminishing number of trees in the country.
Joint UNIDO and Kenya biomass project to begin in June
Kenya and UNIDO launch 5-year biomass project. This is welcome news considering that over 68 percent of the population in Kenya use biomass for cooking, whilst Kenya’s Ministry of Energy estimates that up to 95 percent of the energy consumed in rural areas is in the form of fuel wood, agricultural residue and animal waste.
Tanzania: Championing Energy Solutions for Women
Bagamoyo’s (Tanzania) rapid urbanization and population growth have made it harder for workers like Msilo to keep their businesses afloat and feed their families. Alongside rising electricity costs, the wood most people use for their household and business energy needs is becoming scarcer.
Thirteen women and eight men were instructed on how to produce fuel alternatives to charcoal, using agriculture and crop residues. These residues include rice and cashew husks, wood shavings, coconut husks and shells – all of which can be fashioned into briquettes, whose growing use addresses the shortage of charcoal and other wood-based fuels.