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Renewable energy the way to go

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AFRICA possesses vast resources which if fully exploited could accelerate the growth of its economies.
However, the continent continues to lag behind and this is being exacerbated by lack of access to clean and efficient energy.
Despite numerous energy alternative technologies, our economies continue to struggle to access these sources of energy.
Lack of power to run engines for irrigation systems has severely affected agricultural operations, while erratic rainfalls have resulted in perennial droughts.
Lack of electricity in industrial operations has almost crippled the economy as companies dependant on this source struggle to survive.
While solar, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), paraffin, firewood and charcoal are some of the forms of alternative energy people have resorted to at household level, there is need for countries in the region to invest intensively in other sources of energy in order to fill the power deficit.
The 2009 National Energy Balance discloses that wood fuel provides 61 percent (the bulk) of the total energy supply followed by liquid fuels (18 percent), electricity (13 percent) and coal at eight percent.
According to the National Energy Policy of 2012, of the 37 percent households that have access to electricity, 83 percent are in urban areas with 13 percent in rural areas.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has had a shortfall of 8 247MW on a daily basis since 2007.
Power demand in Zimbabwe currently stands at 2 200MW at any given time.
The country’s national and individual efforts to ensure universal access to clean and efficient energy therefore must be commended.
The recently launched National Solar Water Heating Programme (NSWHP) for instance, is expected to alleviate difficulties resulting from erratic power supply currently being experienced in the country.
It is estimated that there are 250 000 to 300 000 electric geysers countrywide.
If retrofitted with solar geysers, this could save between 300 to 400MW, the total output of an average power station.
The NSWHP will compel new households to install solar water heaters before they are connected to the grid.
Legislation to enforce the new solar water heating standards will be gazetted.
Other commendable initiatives such as the Pig Industry Board biomass project along the Harare-Mutoko road provide lighting, cooking and heating systems for pig production at farm level.
The Chipendeke and Himalaya mini-hydro projects in Mutare which are off-grid provide people with energy for households’, schools’ and clinics’ use.
Being a signatory to the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) by 2030 initiative requires that Zimbabwe crafts and implements strategies to double the use of renewable energy.
The United Nations (UN) SE4ALL initiative is a global force for catalysing efforts by various stakeholders around achieving universal energy access, renewables and energy efficiency.
To achieve SE4ALL there is need for more supportive policies, increased financing and greater participation of civil society organisations (like Practical Action and Hivos in Zimbabwe) at national, regional and international levels.
Calls by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon in September 2011 at the launch of the SE4ALL initiative have made governments realise the need to have all people access energy.
About 1, 3 billion people in the world have no access to energy and two million deaths a year occur due to lack of energy.
Statistics also show that in the next 20 years, 40-50 percent of energy will be from developing countries, including Zimbabwe.
The chief executive officer of SE4ALL and chairman of UN Energy of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Dr Kandeh Yumkella, said energy issues were sensitive and must be made central to developmental issues.
“Energy issues are sensitive issues and we must make them central to developmental issues,” he said.
“Without access to energy, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be achieved so we must develop energy technologies for women empowerment and poverty reduction.”
Global Solar Private Limited chief executive officer Jeffree Rugare said his company was embarking on a programme to address power shortages by implementing solar systems.
“We started the company in 2014 to address food security and energy issues in marginalised communities,” he said.
“Harnessing solar energy will enable communities to become productive, especially in the education and agriculture sectors.
“These are areas of national interest critical to sustainable development.
“We plan to put in place solar-powered pumping systems to pump water for agricultural purposes and at the same time lighting up and powering schools.”
The solar projects, he said, would be implemented in marginalised and disadvantaged communities.
“The solar systems in schools and homes would result in children having extra hours of study and would enable them to compete at the level of their counterparts in towns,” he said.
With access to over 3 000 hours of sunshine a year, Zimbabwe can power almost all its activities with solar energy.
The country has enormous solar energy potential that if fully exploited can supply 10 000 gigawatt hours of electricity per year.
Rugare said the initiative which will create ‘green villages’ would help address the numerous ills affecting the environment.
“The concept is basically to establish green villages across the country that will go a long way in preserving our environment for posterity,” he said.
“We have started implementing this green village theory in Murehwa where we have established a solar-powered irrigation system and access to clean water pumped by solar power.
“I believe the establishment of green villages would make people stay in their communities and develop them into towns and cities, easing pressure on urban areas.”
Rugare said plans were underway to establish solar manufacturing plants, as presently most of the equipment was being imported.
He, however, said funding remained a major challenge in the implementation of the programme.
“Funding is a problem at the moment, but we are partnering non-governmental organisations and micro-finance institutions to address the challenge,” Rugare said.
Development without access to energy is virtually impossible.
Lack of access to modern energy services negatively affects nearly a third of the world population.
Therefore African countries need to constantly improve their shared understanding of the scale, causes and evolving solutions to the multiple dimensions of energy, if the poverty cycle is to be broken.
In light of this, the UN General Assembly unanimously declared 2014‑2024 as the ‘Decade of Sustainable Energy for All’, underscoring the importance of energy issues for sustainable development and for the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda.

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