Power | Village Corps Ghana

BASELOAD BIOMASS POWER
FOR A CARBON-ANCHORED REGIONAL ECONOMY

We provide more than sufficient power for the 2,6 million people and businesses of the entire administrative region.
The power that we generate will form the first Metro-Grid in Africa.
This is genuinely renewable energy (RE) - powered by plants that draw their energy from our Sun.
Photovoltaic and wind turbine based technologies form the basis for the next great exploitation of natural resources – we regenerate land, grow plants, filter water, regenerate ecosystems, and promote biodiversity while producing the power necessary for sustainable development.

AN INTEGRATED POWER + FEEDSTOCK SYSTEM ALLOWS US TO:

Grow and own our own feedstock year-round, which grows to full maturity in 6 months, is mechanically harvested, and shields us from supply-and-demand and price volatility de-risking our ability to produce affordable baseload power
Utilize heirloom C4 grasses that contain less sucrose and more cellulose than modern monocrop sugar cane varietals - these have nearly identical phytoremediation properties and increase plant biodiversity
Avoid monocropping by growing trees, herbs, legumes, root plants, and groundnuts to increase food security and to promote ecological health and biodiversity between rows of C4 grasses to promote soil health and biodiversity

OUR POWER + AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM (UNLIKE MOST RENEWABLES):

Is based upon a simple and well proven power production system (bagasse combustion) that has been in use for ~100 years, or longer
Will remain operational for an estimated ~40 - 60 years, as long as it is properly maintained
Doesn’t require coal, oil, uranium, or anything that we do not grow on the land to generate baseload RE
Supports a just economy and environment, because it does not rely upon the unsustainable mining of rare earth minerals (ie: for wind, batteries) that cause environmental harm and encourage the exploitation of natural resources in poor communities

METRO-GRIDS:

Are small-scale power generation and distribution systems, electricity storage systems, and distribution facilities near load centers
In conjunction with smaller-scale mini-grids, are the most cost-effective way to provide electricity to people with no access to on-demand power
Catalyse social benefits, such as: providing light so that communities can socialize, enabling communication and information access for farmers and businesses, empowering children to study, allowing hospitals to store vaccines and to power operating theatres

THE VCG BIOMASS-POWERED METRO-GRID:

Provides on-demand, distribution power grid-connected, baseload renewable power
Unlike Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), Solar Photovoltaic (PV), and Wind, requires no storage
Makes it possible to load-balance an additional ~150MW of intermittent solar + wind power to create an extended high-capacity, fully renewable power grid
Is connected to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) grid, so that during the ~3 weeks that the Biomass Power Plant is “down for maintenance” community stakeholders/customers still have power access

FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES

FOR MULTINATIONALS AND OTHER LARGE-SCALE ENTERPRISES

Renewable, behind-the-meter, baseload power with flattened KwH price volatility
Potential to directly co-locate within the energy campus
Availability of certified organic produce, for export or for local processing
Availability of waste heat for industry and agricultural processing
High quality road infrastructure (~120 km to Tema Port)
Highly trained, provisioned, and supported small-scale farmer network
Precision agro-logistical IT/DLT for plant and produce supply-chain traceability