How artificial intelligence is helping Ghana plan for a renewable energy future

How artificial intelligence is helping Ghana plan for a renewable energy future

Julien Harou’s career started in geology in his current role as a water management and infrastructure researcher now straddles economics and engineering, with a particular focus on using artificial intelligence (AI) to measure Ghana’s future energy needs.


Harou is relatively upbeat about progress so far towards achieving sustainable and reliable energy for all by 2030, the seventh of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the United Nations in 2015. He points out that from 2015 to 2021, the portion of the global population with access to electricity increased from 87% to 91%, and last year about 30% came from renewable sources.


Harou’s research at the University of Manchester, UK, incorporates computer modeling and artificial intelligence design algorithms to balance Ghana’s long term renewable energy and infrastructure needs. But AI also helps to address the environmental and human health impacts. For example, Ghana’s Volta River was dammed in the 1960s to create the Akosombo dam. But its arrival depleted fish stocks and increased weed and algae growth, providing habitat for vectors of waterborne diseases. It’s all about compromise, he tells the seventh episode of How to Save Humanity in 17 Goals, a podcast series that profiles scientists whose work addresses one or more of the SDGs.


Episodes 7-12 are produced in partnership with Nature Water, and introduced by Fabio Pullizi, its chief editor.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(221)

Why labs need a napping room to help you work, rest and play

Why labs need a napping room to help you work, rest and play

Joseph Jebelli believes burnout and overwork has reached pandemic levels, telling Holly Newson that it kills 750,000 people annually, with three out of five workers struggling to maintain a healthy wo...

26 Mars 39min

‘Be a problem-solver, not a job-seeker:’ how to pivot from academia to industry

‘Be a problem-solver, not a job-seeker:’ how to pivot from academia to industry

Gertrude Nonterah helps researchers step off the academic hamster wheel and seek opportunities beyond their specialty. She does this by tapping into her personal experiences of losing a postdoctoral p...

19 Mars 39min

Nervous networker or conference presenter? Care less, says speech coach Susie Ashfield

Nervous networker or conference presenter? Care less, says speech coach Susie Ashfield

Learning to care less about how you come across in a conference talk, funding pitch or networking event frees you to communicate more naturally and confidently, says Susie Ashfield.In the second episo...

12 Mars 38min

Women in science are not a ‘problem to be fixed’

Women in science are not a ‘problem to be fixed’

In the first episode of a podcast series focused on six books about the scientific workplace, Cordelia Fine tells Holly Newson why she wrote Patriarchy, Inc: What we Get Wrong About Gender Equality an...

5 Mars 39min

Why an industry career move is a taboo topic in academia

Why an industry career move is a taboo topic in academia

In his role as research director at NielsenIQ, a consumer intelligence company based in London, Josh Balsters helps global brands drive product innovation.Balsters relies on expertise he gained in ps...

26 Feb 27min

Academia’s parent trap: the struggles faced by researcher mothers

Academia’s parent trap: the struggles faced by researcher mothers

Alison Behie was approaching 40 when she underwent multiple rounds of IVF, enduring the mental and physical turmoil of miscarriage and uncertainty along the way. How good is the academic workplace at ...

19 Feb 30min

When a colleague dies: exploring academia's "death-denying culture"

When a colleague dies: exploring academia's "death-denying culture"

In the sixth episode of Off Limits, a podcast series exploring topics that are often perceived as taboo in the academic workplace, three researchers describe their personal experiences of loss and how...

13 Feb 36min

‘We need to dismantle the stigma of alcohol dependence in academia’

‘We need to dismantle the stigma of alcohol dependence in academia’

Wendy Dossett tells Adam Levy why the stigma of having an alcohol dependence in academia can be a huge barrier to seeking help. “We’re supposed to be the brightest and the best, moving the frontiers o...

6 Feb 29min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
varvet
badfluence
rss-jossan-nina
rss-borsens-finest
rss-svart-marknad
avanzapodden
svd-tech-brief
uppgang-och-fall
fill-or-kill
rss-dagen-med-di
affarsvarlden
borsmorgon
bathina-en-podcast
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi
lastbilspodden
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
tabberaset
24fragor
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet