What waste has to do with impact – Our client ACARP

EWIAs current portfolio covers a range of industries and regions, enabling us to achieve good diversification for our investors and reduce costs and emissions for our customers. Today, we would like to introduce you to the ACARP organic composting and recycling plant in Accra, which processes 600 tons of waste per day (TBD), thereby reducing the burden on the environment. Read here to find out what a solar power system can achieve there.

You currently have the opportunity to invest in the EWIA Impact Portfolio* 1, a bond that bundles five of our projects with different customers. The following investments are being financed:

• Expansion of the solar power system at the A1 Hospital in Kumasi

• Construction of a solar power system for the Aisha Home Hospital

• Two solar power systems for refrigerated containers at Vital Corporation

• Solar power system for the Zaina Lodge in Mole National Park

• Solar power system for the ACARP organic composting and recycling plant near Accra

  
  

Today, we would like to introduce you to the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP), for which a 184.80 kWp PV system is planned.

What makes ACARP (special)?

The recycling company, based at 77 Airport West Osu Badu Street, Accra, was founded in July 2012 to provide a holistic, integrated approach to municipal waste management in the city of Accra and its surrounding areas. ACARP is the first state-of-the-art waste sorting and composting facility in West Africa, with 300 employees working here alone to keep things running smoothly. The company aims to become a leading waste processing and recycling organization in Africa.

We visited the site ourselves this week. Sometimes you have to walk through a recycling hall in Accra to understand what impact really means. Here, waste is not buried, but refined. Sorting, recycling, high-quality compost. Regional value creation. Waste becomes fertilizer, a problem becomes a product.

The 600 tons of waste that flow through the plant every day represent a sound and scalable business model. What may sound chaotic is actually a highly precise circular economy: waste is sorted, organic residues are turned into fertilizer for agriculture, and plastics are returned to the cycle.

The plant accepts waste, sorts it, and produces high-quality organic compost—over 23,000 tons per year—for agricultural and agronomic activities, as well as other recycled products such as plastics, paper, and metal for the local and international markets. However, conveyor belts and sorting systems require a stable energy supply, because if the power fails, the 600 tons come to a standstill. This is where EWIA comes in.

Accra is growing, but the trash piles aren't necessarily growing with it

Accra is growing rapidly. The city needs solutions for its waste and energy needs. That's why ACARP is aiming to expand its existing facility to 1,500 TPD in the short to medium term in order to comprehensively process the more than 3,000 tons of municipal waste generated daily in the capital city of Accra. As part of its strategic plan to address the waste situation in Ghana, the company is building mobile plants with a daily processing capacity of 200 tons per line in all regional capitals. In the long term, the aim is to integrate plants for converting waste into energy and medical and electronic waste into the operation.

Solar-as-a-Service contract and operation of the solar power system

We have concluded a Solar-as-a-Service contract with ACARP for a term of 5 years. This contract covers the installation and operation of the system, including maintenance. Until the system has been paid for in full, it remains the property of EWIA. EWIA has full access to the system during this period.

The solar power system is used exclusively to supply power to the recycling facilities and the office complex. A detailed analysis of power consumption was carried out in advance.

Comprehensive data was available for analyzing electricity consumption and costs. Data logger analyses were also carried out. The project is being implemented by the Ghanaian subsidiary of BEBA Africa GmbH. BEBA Africa has many years of experience and excellent references in the field of solar plant construction. The planning, construction, and testing of the plant are being carried out under the supervision of EWIA engineers.

What the PV system can do and what it achieves

The solar system has a capacity of 184.8 kWp thanks to 336 JAM72S30-550/MR modules. Three inverters are also used. The system is grid-connected, and the electricity generated is used exclusively for the company's own consumption.

This system results in CO₂ savings of 117 tons per year, the equivalent of

• Car journeys: approx. 585,000 km (14.6 times around the world)

• Trees: 9,360 beech trees (approx. 11 soccer fields of forest)

• People: annual footprint of 11 Germans

• Flight distances: 32 times Frankfurt – New York (round trip)

Double impact

ACARP is a central part of our EWIA Impact Portfolio Ghana 1. Because together we generate double impact here.

• Recycling: Every ton of waste that is refined here saves massive emissions at landfills.

• Solar energy: Our photovoltaic solution reduces energy costs, makes the plant independent of the unstable grid, and saves 117 tons of CO₂ per year.

And sustainability is not a “nice-to-have” or marketing gimmick at ACARP. It is a hard-nosed business necessity. Because if the power goes out, the conveyor belts stop. If the belts stop, the mountain of waste grows. Without a stable energy supply, the system collapses.

A role model for the continent

Founded around 13 years ago, the company now has over 70 locations across Africa, employs 6,000 people, and welcomes government delegations from various African countries every week. Ghana is setting standards here, and ACARP is also passing on its knowledge, as it has modern teaching and learning facilities as well as state-of-the-art laboratories for training and research in the field of modern, effective processing and recycling technologies.