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Mozambique solar factory to expand power access

by Alison Harley | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Friday, 4 February 2011 12:58 GMT

Mozambican hospitals and schools that have little energy supply are looking forward to the inauguration of a new solar panel factory that is expected to expand the power network, cut high energy costs and help curb climate change

MAPUTO (AlertNet) – Mozambican hospitals and schools that have little or no energy supply are looking forward to the inauguration of a new solar panel factory later this year that is expected to expand the power network, cut high energy costs, preserve dwindling resources of fossil fuels and help curb climate change.

The factory, an Indian-Mozambican venture located at Beluluane Industrial Park on the outskirts of the capital Maputo, is set to begin production in the middle of this year following a year-long $10 million building programme.

India provided the investment for the factory and will initially supply the raw materials for assembling the solar panels. Later Mozambican companies will manufacture some of the components for the panels, officials said.

This is expected to bring down the cost of the panels in Mozambique and provide jobs in one of the world’s poorest countries. The factory is expected to employ 70 people, including 15 Mozambican engineers trained in India.

“The construction of this factory fits with the government’s strategy to fight poverty and create the conditions for socio-economic development using all available energy resources, including renewable energy,” said Energy Minister Salvador Namburete.

“Our main priority with this initiative is to broaden Mozambique’s energy network,” said Namburete, speaking at a ceremony last year to lay the factory’s first stone.

Solar power is currently used in Mozambique but on a limited basis and the costs are very high as equipment has to be imported.

RISING POWER DEMAND

State-run Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM) is responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of most of the energy consumed in the country. But Mozambique is in dire need of new energy sources as rapid economic growth spurs rising power demand. EDM is facing hikes in demand for energy of about 8 percent per year.

The southern African country also is pushing forward with renewable energy because known national reserves of natural gas are expected to run dry by as early as 2050, according to recent national studies. Burning fossil fuels also contributes to climate change, hence the growing need to move into renewable energy sources.

While the Beluluane factory will help reduce the country’s already relatively small carbon emissions, the prospect of cheaper and more widely available energy is the most exciting part of the scheme for most Mozambicans.

Many schools, hospitals and public buildings across the country either lack power or have an inadequate supply and are forced to rely on kerosene lamps or candles for light. Almost half of the country’s public health infrastructure is without power and blackouts in homes and public buildings are common.

Dr. Eusebio Macete, director of the Manhica Health Research Centre, about 75 km (46 miles) north of Maputo, believes locally produced solar panels will be of great benefit to his centre and to other institutions, although he does have doubts about their reliability.

“Our problem is the quality of the power provided by this system. But we think if we have locally produced solar panels, maintenance costs will be lower. That is good for us,” said Macete, whose health centre carried out a study exploring the viability of using solar energy.

The Manhica health centre has over the years suffered power shortages but could not afford to fit solar panels, as they were too expensive to import. But Macete supports the use of solar as a way to cut electricity consumption and bills and reduce reliance on climate-changing  fossil fuels.

“Solar panels have provided an excellent energy alternative,” Macete said. “We’re among those who advocate the use of renewable energy, with all its well-known advantages.”

HELP FOR FARMERS

Elsewhere, farmers who are struggling to pay their electricity bills were also looking forward to the prospect of cheaper solar panels.

The 339 members of the Mafuiane Irrigators Association, located 30 km (18 miles) south of Maputo, pay about 115,000 meticais ($3,560) per month to EDM to power their irrigation system.

“That is a lot of money for us,” said Alberto Waquisse, president of the association, whose members farm 172 hectares (425 acres). “We’re pleased to hear the government is building a solar panel factory that will provide renewable and clean energy.”

A share of Maputo’s 144 schools, which educate 400,000 students, should also benefit from the factory.

“EDM’s energy is not accessible in much of Inhaca and Catembe, two of the seven districts of Maputo city. Solar panels are the solution because once we get them there, there are no monthly costs,” said Gideao Jamo, director of education in Maputo’s city government.  Another advantage is that “we can develop our own technical support,” he said.

Some schools already hooked up to the electrical grid pay EDM as much as $400 per month for power to enable them to teach classes at night.

A number of hospitals and health centres in Maputo and elsewhere in Mozambique already use solar panels, largely because EDM cannot reach them and because the government for some time has been promoting solar power. But much of the country’s health infrastructure still lacks adequate power supply.

“With solar panels we can solve many of our problems,” said Leonardo Chavane, a spokesperson at the Ministry of Health.

Solar panels can help power medical equipment, and freezers and other cooling devices to store samples, as well as helping power pumps to lift water from wells.

“We are sure that we can save money this way,” Chavane said.

The government wants the Beluluane factory to be the first of several to be built around the country.

“We want this initiative to be repeated in other parts of Mozambique,” Namburete said.

The factory’s priority will be to supply the domestic market but it will also be open to export opportunities, he added.

Arsenio Manhice is a journalist based in Maputo. This story is part of a series supported by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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