Over 2 Million Mozambicans Using Renewable Energy

Mozambican Energy Minister Salvador Namburete reports that over 2 million Mozambicans are now using renewable energy sources.

Namburete said, "Currently, 30 percent of Mozambicans have access to electricity, being 20 percent from the expansion of the national grid and the remaining 10 percent - about 2.1 million Mozambicans, through renewable energy sources, including solar panels, wind turbines, small and medium-size dams and biomass, which generate electricity with the same quality as that of the Cahora Bassa dam."

Beyond the sources listed above, Mocambique’s renewable energy projects under development include a number of biofuel facilities utilizing sugar cane bagasse and jatropha seedcake under the government’s recently approved strategy for renewable energy, Agencia Informacao Mocambique reported.

The most widely used renewable energy resource is solar power, with small facilities scattered across the nation to meet the needs of rural populations, particularly in remote areas, where traditional electrical resources would be both difficult and expensive to deploy. Mozambique now also has a number of micro hydropower dams, with a generating capacity up to 15 megawatts of electricity, which are being used to supply power to small communities.

Namburete told reporters attending the Energy Ministry’s VII Coordinating Council, "We must recognize that large dams are crucial to produce enough energy to supply mega-projects such as the aluminum smelter 'Mozal' and other industries. But the small and micro-power stations are better placed to solve the problems of the population through local systems capable of providing clean and quality energy."

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com