Friday, March 29, 2024

Govt. considering alternative energy sources

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Government has disclosed that it was looking at alternative means of proving electricity to the country because hydro-electricity was currently not sustainable.

Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary Emelda Chola said hydroelectricity was not sustainable at a time like this one when water levels in the rivers have been declining because of the changing climatic conditions.

Brigadier General Chola said renewable energy would be considered because it was environmentally friendly.

She was speaking in Ikelenge on Tuesday when a team from the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) paid a courtesy call on chieftainess Ikelenge, Muhemba the second.

And Chieftainess Ikelenge appealed to government to consider marketing potential tourism sites in her chiefdom.

She noted that the Zambezi source and the Kaleni swamps had attracted bird species which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

She said if marketed properly, these sites could become attractive tourist destinations and earn the country foreign exchange from tourists visiting the area.

The traditional leader added that the money earned from tourists could be used for other developmental projects and social services such as education and health.

 

7 COMMENTS

  1. “..Brigadier General Chola said renewable energy would be considered because it was environmentally friendly…”

    Where does PF get these people from.?. How many years are we now with load shedding and this is what they think ??.

    I suppose zambians will just have to dance dununa reverse and call for national prayers.

    Play that song please…..

  2. with all the poultry farming we do here in Zambia; has the government considered using the chicken manure to make gas and electricity from that; some parts of ghana use pit latrines to generate electricity

  3. It is very possible to produce electricity from animal waste like cow dung pig manure as demonstrated by one student at Copperbelt University who did a lot of research in the subject. Government should just consult UNZA and CBU to tap ideas from such students because they have vast knowledge which can be utilized for the good of the country instead of letting the knowledge rot in the university libraries.

  4. We need to have a balanced energy mix. Biomass energy (ba Simbyakula) will just supplement domestic consumption but currently we need more is renewable energy that can sustain the BASE LOAD in the country.

  5. JM, yes I agree with you we need a balance but do you know much sewage is generated in Zambia? Do you know how many cattle ranches we have in Zambia? Galaun Farms with thousands of cattle and many others in Southern province and Mkushi can sustain electricity generation from the waste enough to be connected to the national grid. Consider this.

  6. Morning ba Simbyakula, It is true that we have enough biomass to feed the digesters and generate power that will ‘supplement’ hydro and thermal from coal. This technology has not been fully exploited to invest in huge amounts of money and later on depend on this energy as a country. Remember biomass has small energy content for its bulkiness and other costs like transportation, storage labour etc.
    For me now we have to go thermal because we need energy that will drive the economy and create sustainable jobs for Zambians . Africa only contributes less than 6% to pollution by green house gases and gas emission has reduced from thermal power plants due to improved safety technology. We need sufficient and reliable power to drive the mines, steel industry and that is NOT biomass. Up to…

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