Namibia over-dependent on conventional energy

NAMIBIA needs to diversify its energy sources and not only rely on fossil fuels to meet its increasing power needs.

As Namibia starts to feels the pinch of having to import electricity and fossil fuel reserves diminish, the time has now come for the country to develop alternative sources of energy to sustain its economy and the environment. A workshop on renewable-energy marketing and advocacy, which ended this week, agreed that Namibia needed to do more to exploit its solar energy potential.Namibia is ranked among the countries with the highest solar radiation potential in the world, but breaking down the barriers to expanding the use of renewable energy in Namibia as a long-term, sustainable energy option have yet to be achieved.”In Namibia there are a lot of areas that electricity can’t be taken, so solar energy makes great sense in the rural areas.It’s just a change, a paradigm shift, that is required.We have to see where renewable energy makes sense and where other sources make sense.”Prem Jain, the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s Chief Technical Advisor on renewable energy, told the media in Windhoek yesterday.But Namibia is desperately lacking in the technical capacity to install and manage renewable technology, despite Government efforts to foster partnerships with tertiary institutions to include training in their curricula.Ordinary Namibians are also unaware of the alternatives available to conventional grid electricity.Energy Technical Advisor in the Ministry of Mines and Energy Shimweefeleni Hamutwe said delegates to the workshop recognised the need to adopt building regulations that would take energy efficiency into account.As a starting point, new houses and public facilities should be fitted with solar water heaters rather than electric geysers.With the initial costs of fitting solar water heaters being higher than the conventional electrical kind, the Ministry said it would continue to fight for incentives for homeowners to install solar technology.Since 2000, the Ministry, through its Solar Revolving Fund, has been offering loans at 5 per cent interest for the purchase and installation of solar systems.Last year, more systems were installed than in all the previous years combined.Mines and Energy Permanent Secretary Joseph Iita said over the past two centuries the world, including Namibia, had been over-dependent on fossil fuels and these resources would not be able to sustain the country forever.He said Government was very committed to expanding the country’s use of solar energy.”Government has not been sleeping.But Government can’t achieve this alone.Renewable-energy technology is the energy of the future,” said Iita.Iita did not rule out that Government could consider legislation to enforce the use of renewable technology.An electric geyser costs around N$4 000 compared to a solar system, with a longer lifespan of about 20 years, which costs around N$12 000.But Jain says Namibians are yet to see the long-term cost-saving benefits of the solar system which, after being paid off in around four to five years, costs nothing to operate.An electric water heater constitutes about 40 per cent of a household’s electricity costs.It is estimated that the world’s oil reserves will only sustain global energy needs for another forty to fifty years, while gas reserves are expected to last another 80 years.Coal reserves have a lifespan of around 200 years.”I do believe the renewable energy has a lot of future in the development of this country,” said Jain.Even if Namibia had a good supply of fossil fuels for energy supply, the cost of infrastructure to reach outlying areas would be immense, say renewable energy advocates.The effects of climate change, advocates say, should be another consideration in diminishing reliance on fossil fuels as the traditional way of generating power.A workshop on renewable-energy marketing and advocacy, which ended this week, agreed that Namibia needed to do more to exploit its solar energy potential.Namibia is ranked among the countries with the highest solar radiation potential in the world, but breaking down the barriers to expanding the use of renewable energy in Namibia as a long-term, sustainable energy option have yet to be achieved.”In Namibia there are a lot of areas that electricity can’t be taken, so solar energy makes great sense in the rural areas.It’s just a change, a paradigm shift, that is required.We have to see where renewable energy makes sense and where other sources make sense.”Prem Jain, the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s Chief Technical Advisor on renewable energy, told the media in Windhoek yesterday.But Namibia is desperately lacking in the technical capacity to install and manage renewable technology, despite Government efforts to foster partnerships with tertiary institutions to include training in their curricula.Ordinary Namibians are also unaware of the alternatives available to conventional grid electricity.Energy Technical Advisor in the Ministry of Mines and Energy Shimweefeleni Hamutwe said delegates to the workshop recognised the need to adopt building regulations that would take energy efficiency into account.As a starting point, new houses and public facilities should be fitted with solar water heaters rather than electric geysers.With the initial costs of fitting solar water heaters being higher than the conventional electrical kind, the Ministry said it would continue to fight for incentives for homeowners to install solar technology.Since 2000, the Ministry, through its Solar Revolving Fund, has been offering loans at 5 per cent interest for the purchase and installation of solar systems.Last year, more systems were installed than in all the previous years combined.Mines and Energy Permanent Secretary Joseph Iita said over the past two centuries the world, including Namibia, had been over-dependent on fossil fuels and these resources would not be able to sustain the country forever.He said Government was very committed to expanding the country’s use of solar energy.”Government has not been sleeping.But Government can’t achieve this alone.Renewable-energy technology is the energy of the future,” said Iita.Iita did not rule out that Government could consider legislation to enforce the use of renewable technology.An electric geyser costs around N$4 000 compared to a solar system, with a longer lifespan of about 20 years, which costs around N$12 000.But Jain says Namibians are yet to see the long-term cost-saving benefits of the solar system which, after being paid off in around four to five years, costs nothing to operate.An electric water heater constitutes about 40 per cent of a household’s electricity costs. It is estimated that the world’s oil reserves will only sustain global energy needs for another forty to fifty years, while gas reserves are expected to last another 80 years.Coal reserves have a lifespan of around 200 years.”I do believe the renewable energy has a lot of future in the development of this country,” said Jain.Even if Namibia had a good supply of fossil fuels for energy supply, the cost of infrastructure to reach outlying areas would be immense, say renewable energy advocates.The effects of climate change, advocates say, should be another consideration in diminishing reliance on fossil fuels as the traditional way of generating power.