‘Our energy the future’

Dear Editor,

I FEEL there is little information in the public domain concerning other viable clean sources of energy options apart from the traditional hydro.

As a result of this inadequate information our nation stands at a brink of bouncing back into the limping clutches of the 2015 loading shedding once again.

We all are alive to the memories of the 2015 blackouts and how it ravaged our already stumbling economy from an SME running a barbershop to the macro entity in the mines.

Nobody wants a repeat of that episode but everybody is doing very little to address it.

There is key information in some shelf that Zambia is blessed with so much energy which if harnessed can boost our economy and the social status, but our people have been left to think that Hydro-Electricity is whole what is there for them.

Just take a look at how life comes to a standstill in Lusaka or any town on the line of rail when Zesco decides to do what it is despised for.

Yet, the Environmental and Social Management Framework of 2017 accounts that “Zambia has an average solar insolation of 5.5 kWh/ m2/day, with approximately 3, 000 sunshine hours annually.” providing good potential for solar thermal and photovoltaic applications.

The same report plus other literatures like the supports that Zambia has an average wind speed of 3 - 10 m/s above the ground, a speed which is mainly suitable for mechanical applications.

The renewable energy zones for Africa clean energy corridor report further supports that ‘ The neighbouring countries like Rwanda, DRC, Burundi which lack cost effective wind zone can benefit from Zambia which has a high quality wind resource.’

To add to this we have Bio fuels and coal plus more other sources. The question is why are we burdening our Kariba Dam to let them light our major sectors of our economy.

Do we realise that by not exposing our people especially those in rural areas to other energy sources our future is compromised because every tree will certainly fall in the quest to put meals on the tables? Already, wood fuel usage as an option in place of hydro occupies 80 percent of our national pie chart.

Every single day that passes without action, every time a new baby is born in Zambia.

From every town added to the national grid and capacity remains static. The pressure from our people to cut more trees increases and a window of opportunities for a clean future closes a little bit more.

I submit that the media should do more to enlighten our people about other cheaper sources of energy, the government should formulate a policy that will distribute energy source usage.

Let hydro-electricity be confined to the mines only, wind energy should be restricted for agricultural purposes only as households are confined to solar energy.

While these other energy sources acts as backups. Places in the valleys like Chama, Mwense with less industries do not need hydro-electricity but can survive on solar energy alone.