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(HERALD) Sun answer to Zim’s energy challenges

Sun answer to Zim’s energy challenges

ZIMBABWE, like many African countries, is facing electricity generation problems, forcing the Government and other stakeholders to focus on solar as an alternative energy source. The Zimbabwe Energy Group has started a nationwide project to increase usage of solar power in rural clinics, secondary schools, households and institutions to ease pressure on the national electricity supply grid.

At the centre of the project are portable solar-powered reading lights for rural pupils, portable solar lights for clinics, portable household lights, portable multi-purpose lights for farmers and solar-powered water pumps for domestic consumption and irrigation. Our Features Editor Isdore Guvamombe (IG) talks to ZimEnergy group chief executive Mr Wadson Muchemwa (WM) about the rural solar electrification.

IG: What is ZimEnergy Group?

WM: ZimEnergy Group has been established, with support from the Government, as a direct response to the triple inter-related power supply challenges in Zimbabwe and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of energy, poverty and environmental crises.

The image of a continent dark at night is familiar to visitors on the Internet and this darkness is reflected in our households, clinics, schools, urban as well as rural communities where Africans live. The majority of households in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity. Widespread use of wood fuel and kerosene not only means deforestation and indoor pollution, but it also feeds into worsening the impact of climate change and ill-health.

IG: Historically, rural areas in Zimbabwe have not had access to a lot of electricity. Life has been centred on firewood, paraffin and diesel. Is that what pushes your organisation?

WM: I was myself born at a rural home in Goromonzi in a round hut under candlelight but things must change for the better.

My mother delivered me under candlelight but those must be bygones for a modern mother. We cannot continue to live like that in a country, which has sunshine 365 days per year. Lack of lighting at household level reduces productivity of family members who are forced to retire to bed as soon as the sun sets.

Right now in many clinics, pregnant mothers have to bring their own candles at delivery time or else they deliver at home and in clinics with limited light.

This leads to high mortality and morbidity rates for the mothers and newborns.

In schools, lack of lighting and electricity means limited learning opportunities, especially in the current Internet age where access to computers has revolutionised access to information, knowledge, and skills-creation. Pupils need to read at home at night.

IG: How does Zimbabwe compare in rural lighting with other African countries and with rural Europe?

WM: Across African nations and regions, our carbon footprint may be comparably smaller to that in the richer world, but it is on the increase.

Science has now confirmed that the impact of climate change will be far worse, appear earlier and more widespread in the poor nations of Africa.

We are now experiencing more frequent and extended droughts, further exacerbating impacts on health, poverty and already strained environmental eco-systems.

ZimEnergy Group seeks to co-create integrated and systemic solutions within, but not limited to, the energy-environment-poverty triangle.

IG: What solutions?

WM: There are three major devices that should change the lives of people living outside the connections of the national electricity grid. We want to provide solar power to every rural school, clinic or growth point by 2015 and these three gadgets are central to that project.

IG: Which are these gadgets?

WM: The first one is the Nova S210 solar light and mobile phone charger. This rechargeable light is charged by a pocket-size solar panel and the same solar light can also be used to charge the most popular Nokia, Samsung and Motorola handsets.

Included in the box are 8 adaptors that can charge the three brands of handsets. The light itself works for 12 hours before it is recharged. This means half the night when it continuous use.

The second item is the Solata S380 Reading Lamp. Again this one is recharged by a pocket-size solar panel. Eight hours charge gives one up to 15 hours of lighting. This lamp can also be charged using standard Nokia charger.

This should improve the lives of thousands of rural school pupils. This is a substitute for the candle and costs less than US$15. It is very affordable.

The third one is the Kiran S11Portable Solar Light. This is a led light system that gives natural light for up to 8 hours.

You can use the standard Nokia phone charger.

Again it is good for students outside the national grid. It is handy and useful and it gives the rural pupil enough study time like the one in urban areas. At the end, the pass rate should increase in rural areas.

So, you see, Muchemwa is a leader who strongly believes in balancing, making modest profits and serving communities that are without energy, suffering from poverty and disease, and, bearing the harsh impact of climate change.

We want to empower our disadvantaged folk, while at the same time doing modest business.

These gadgets were manufactured in China but have a United States of America patent and we are the official distributors, with enough back up parts.

IG: Are these gadgets readily available and are you not going to be overwhelmed by demand?

WM: Well, we have a huge bay in Msasa at Harrow Business Park and we are already working on nationwide distribution centres.

We have containers coming every other week and we will try to meet demand. The idea is to do business while at the same time ensuring that the gadgets are affordable to the rural populace.

IG: What are the underlying values?

WM: ZimEenergy’s underlying principle is that we share one planet, and with that comes rights and obligations that should be shared responsibly to ensure not only the survival of the present generation, but that of successive generations.

With that core understanding, and together as business, government and civil society, we can shape and co-create a future that celebrates humankind’s imagination to sustain health, wealth and the wellbeing of all.

In that journey, every individual, family, community and nation counts. And that journey begins with each one of us, here and now. Hence we conduct our business with the highest degree of honesty, integrity, and transparency.

We are absolutely committed to the people in their communities and their environment.

We believe that our business can serve society responsibly, in turn enabling society to enable our business to innovate and grow. Our employees are our most valuable assets; we are committed to their empowerment in an environment of openness and mutual trust.

Africa is the land of sunshine. ZimEnergy Solar taps into this abundant resource, develops and provides a full range of integrated lighting and power solutions to urban and rural households, health clinics and hospitals, schools, offices (both government and private), or any other interested customer.

IG: I understand you have launched a national campaign on solar usage, what is it about?

WM: Yes, it is called Let There Be Light 2015 campaign. We are striving to work with Government, civil society and international development partners to provide light to every rural household, rural health clinic and rural school in Zimbabwe by 2015.

There is another one called Urban Light Connect. Here we provide fully integrated solutions to urban neighbourhoods, especially those that are not reached by national electricity grids, or those most disrupted by the recurrent power shortages.

The last one is called the Sadc Solar Mini Grid. Here it is ZimEnergy’s premier effort to provide, within the 15 member nation economic zone of Southern Africa, mini solar grids for entire communities, either off-grid or connected to existing electricity grids.

ZimEnergy Solar is in the process of establishing a solar panel manufacturing facility within the Sadc region to serve African markets.

IG: What other projects are you embarking on?

WM: We have the ZimEnergy Consult, the ZimEnergy Bank and the ZimEnergy Eco-Foundation.

IG: Can you explain each of them?

WM: ZimEnergy Consult provides advice to governments, businesses and other stakeholders on the energy-environment-poverty continuum. It conducts energy audits and analysis to inform policy, regulatory frameworks, strategy, and institutional reform as societies embrace the new renewable energy paradigm and creates and shares knowledge through industry-government-civil society and networks on renewable energy value chains.

It is also mandated to work with industries to help manage the complex global supply chains to and from the last mile in the least developed countries. ZimEnergy Consult also advises industries on corporate social responsibility that should inform a sustainable engagement within the energy-environment-poverty triangle.

IG: Okay, explain the ZimEnergy Bank.

WM: ZimEnergy Bank is the group's financial arm, designed to facilitate investment in a new but expanding industry, and help households, communities, businesses (especially small and medium enterprises) access affordable finance to go solar.

The bank is a source of investment, capital to entrepreneurs with innovative ideas that can be translated into solar and other energy- efficient, environment- friendly products and services. It is a co-investor in business start-ups involved in solar and other renewable sources of energy and provides innovative financial tools to SMEs in the energy sector.

We want the bank to build public-private partnerships with government, business and international development partners in solar and other renewable sources of energy, the Clean Development Mechanism that includes investing in low-carbon communities of the future and investing in innovative, eco-friendly designs, infrastructure, products and services in the transportation sector. We want the bank to assist in investing in energy efficiency initiatives (government, businesses, communities and residential properties).

IG: What is the ZimEnergy Eco-Foundation?

WM: This is the philanthropic arm of the ZimEnergy Group, promoting society’s responses to the inter-twined challenges of energy, environment and poverty in the least developed countries of Africa.

It seeks to work with community, national, continental, and international stakeholders to shape policy, institutional, regulatory, and legal contexts to spur innovation, entrepreneurship, and systemic change.

It mobilises knowledge, skills and financial resources for social enterprises and communities involved in responding to energy, poverty and environmental challenges, especially at the community level and conducts and shares research into local impacts of climate change and their mitigation.

The foundation creates networks of practice for organisations in the energy, poverty, environment continuum and assists in mapping Zimbabwe’s national carbon foot print, mapping Sadc’s regional carbon foot print and helping businesses, big and small, as well as government, civil society organisations, communities and households reduce their carbon foot print. The foundation is at the moment preparing Zimbabwe for the electric car.

IG: Electric car?

WM: Yes, in fact we are bringing the first solar powered car to Zimbabwe for the first time by end of this year, God willing.

At the moment the foundation is educating, training, mentoring, and coaching the next generation of eco-friendly managers and leaders and raising society’s awareness and response to global, regional, national and community environmental challenges: climate change; energy; water; bio-diversity and land use; chemicals, toxins and heavy metals; air pollution; waste management; ozone layer depletion; oceans and fisheries; and, deforestation.

IG: What is Zimbabwe’s future in energy supply?

WM: The future is in solar. Our country has sunshine 365 days a year. Our vision is the greening of Zimbabwe and Africa through sustainable renewable energy solutions; alleviating poverty through affordable and sustainable solar energy solutions; and, halting and reversing environmental damage at the local, national, African and global levels.

Our mission is to offer to our clients environmentally friendly, affordable and efficient solar energy products, and services to Zimbabwe, southern Africa and the rest of Africa. Every person must have light, safe light in urban, rural and other settlements that are not connected to national electricity grid.

Everyone must have light when there are power cuts or faults. Solar is never cut off, there is no solar blackout. Solar power is cheap and environmentally friendly.

isadore.guvamombe@zimpapers.co.zw

Labels: SOLAR ENERGY, WADSON MUCHEMWA

posted by MrK @ 6:44 AM