By Elias Ntungwe Ngalame
TORONTO, Canada (PAMACC News) - Energy experts say emerging
technology, social and business innovations are offering enormous possibilities
for over 2 billion people in off grid communities especially in Africa to
access energy resources that will radically transform their lives through
improvements in education, business, agriculture health care and other spheres.
The application of
increasingly low-cost modular renewable energy technologies to Africa’s
emerging markets also offers an opportunity to mitigate the effects of climate
change and enable energy poor communities to become leaders in the global shift
towards decarbonization, the energy experts pointed out at the end of a four
day WGSI (Waterloo Global Science Initiative)Open Access Energy Summit in
Waterloo Toronto Canada, April 22-27,2016.
“We are living in a moment
of great technological, economic and social transformation that brings lots of
opportunities. These opportunities can only be reached when we have access to
energy. African countries have thus a great opportunity to apply renewable
energy technologies to fight poverty,” says Chris Anderson, President of Lumos
Energy at the summit.
International,
multigenerational team of researchers, practitioners, representatives of
energy-poor communities from Canada and other countries including Africa,
lawyers, government advisors and financial experts all congregated in Toronto
to map out high-leverage solution pathways and actions that could bring
universal electricity access.
The experts pointed
out electricity access is a key ingredient for all types of economic activity,
and a reliable supply can allow people to break free of the cycle of poverty and
the effects of climate change. Additionally, a stable electricity supply is
essential for achieving almost all of the United Nations’ Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), including access to health care, education, and clean
water.
Although sub-Saharan Africa
still has a long way to go in
securing energy access for its population, this also means that there are many
opportunities to leapfrog the development of emerging nations by adopting
newer, cleaner, and more efficient technologies, the experts say.
In Cameroon for
example industrial operators and families have in the past been paying heavy
cost from unstable grid causing regular local power outages. Industrial
operators have been experiencing unplanned downtime for their factories,
resulting in losses from reduced production levels as a result of absence or
unreliable energy. A number of factory owners turned to diesel generators to
produce on-site power with heavy cost and health risk incurred from carbon
emission that causes pollution and global warming.
But the situation is
now changing since the introduction of new technology and business innovation
bringing alternative clean energy that is climate friendly.
“The introduction of
multiple technology in renewable energy is making inroads in many communities
in Cameroon, changing the livelihoods of many families and the way of doing
business by economic operators,” says Billy Yarro of West Africa Energy Lead,
Practical Action.
In Douala in Cameroon for
example, SCTB has since installed a new permanent Jenbacher gas engine
solution that now provides a reliable supply of electricity supply to the flour
mills.
Flour from corn is a stable
meal highly consumed in Cameroon.
Statistics from the
government shows that Corn production in 2014/15 was around 1.6 million
tons. The amount of corn consumption has now incraesed in parallel with
production, thanks to the new installations. Accordingly, Cameroon’s corn consumption
was recorded as 1.7 million tons in the seasons of 2013/14 and 2014/15.
The J420 gas engine
will enable SCTB to save on fuel while accessing reliable power for its
operations,says Oluwatoyin Abegunde, sub-Saharan region leader for GE's
Distributed Power business. "The project illustrates how GE's technology
is able to support Cameroon's needs for a more sustainable supply of
electricity."
By increasing its
gas-to-power efficiency rate and reducing diesel fuel consumption, the project
will be able to reduce carbon emissions at its mills environment expert say
In Cameroons Far North for example some six
neighbouring villages, Mindif, Larie Katchel, Dir Irlagare, Mayo Behehel and
Ouro are today reaping unexpected benefits from a solar powered water supply
scheme, thanks to collaboration efforts between the government and the Center
for Environment and Rural Transformation, CERUT, an NGOin Cameroon.
Before the project many herders lost nearly
all their animals, their main source of income, as a result of the region's
erratic rainfall and drying ground water supplies.
The
new water supply system uses a 2,500 cubic metre water tower, built into the
hills 15 km from Mindif. Using power from solar panels, the water is pumped up
from an underground reservoir and distributed through a network of pipes to
Mindif and the other villages.
In
the villages, more than 40 water storage containers collect the supplied water,
which is delivered into household containers using a low-maintenance hand pump.
Just one year after the project, clean drinking water is available to 80% of
people in the villages.
In Zimbabwe a solar
powered water supplied scheme is helping women farmers improve their livelihood
and that of their families.
A local NGO, ProAfrica came to the rescue of rural farmers under a
multi-partner initiative. Villagers contributed passion and labour while
Pro-Africa provided training and technical advice. Rotary International,
through a Bulawayo and US-based club helped secure $51 000 to enhance the capacity
of the Matope Dam.
In the Irisvale
resettlement area in the Umzingwane District, 70 km
south east of Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo, hunger and poverty have been an undefeated enemy each time
there is a drought.
Water limitation
regularly affected the rural community accessing markets for their produce but
that is now changing because of the water supply scheme.
No comments:
Post a Comment