Heart of the mind
The advantage with solar panels is that they can be installed within months and not years as is the case with hydro electric power generation
THE Ministerial Statement in Parliament on October 8, 2019 by the Minister of Energy provided quite a number of insights into the ongoing load shedding the country is experiencing.
It was interesting to note that about 60 of the over 120 health institutions in the country have been exempted from load shedding and that about 100 mega watts of power is being consumed by these 60 health institutions.
Without debate, the load shedding the country is experiencing is a consequence of global warming. The strategy is to adapt or perish. From the scientific world we have learnt that because of her geographical position, Zambia has the best light/heat intensity from the sun. This makes the country an ideal location for the production of solar electrical energy, using an economical term; Zambia has a competitive advantage in the production of solar electrical energy.
Like all natural resources, this abundant light/heat intensity that Zambia receives from the sun requires to be harnessed so that the country benefits from solar electrical power.
To harness any natural resource, planning is of essence so that when the natural resource is finally harnessed; all the consequences of harnessing such a resource are taken care of.
From the foregoing, it will not be wishful thinking for the government to embark on setting up solar panels at each of the country’s health institutions; such panels should be designed to produce the required electrical power with Lithium batteries back up to each of these health institutions.
The backup from Lithium batteries is meant to compensate for the loss of light/heat from the sun during periods like cold and rainy seasons.
Once this is done, these health institutions can be disconnected from the national grid and the over 100 mega watts of electrical power so saved can be channeled towards reducing the load shedding the country is going through.
The advantage with solar panels is that they can be installed within months and not years as is the case with hydro electric power generation.
The effects of global warming are not new to Zambia; the impact of global warming was felt as far back as 2014; that is why in October, 2015 amidst another load shedding episode due to the same warming, President Edgar Lungu declared October 18 a day of prayer, fasting and reconciliation.
Divine intervention in everything we do is important, the Latin maxim, Ora et Labora (pray and work) perhaps finds its relevance here.
The effects of global warming are complicated and to some extent complex, they will not disappear soon and we need men and women holding public portfolios to think outside the box to alleviate the negative
consequences that come with global warming. We don’t expect people who “read” newspapers upside down to be anywhere near such portfolios.
It was a good initiative by the President to declare October 18 a day of prayer, fasting and reconciliation; this should have been followed by the formulation of an energy crisis cabinet, equivalent to the war cabinet formed when a country is at war.
As a matter of fact, the energy crisis cabinet is more necessary than a war cabinet. Without electrical power, the country can come to a standstill within seconds with catastrophic consequences too ghastly to contemplate.
An energy crisis cabinet comprising the President, ministers of finance, energy, environment and foreign affairs should have been meet
ing every day since 2014.
By now, most of what could have been done to mitigate the effects of global warming on electrical power generation would have been accomplished.
This energy crisis cabinet supported by technocrats from Zesco and Bank of Zambia would have secured the future of electrical power generation in Zambia, Ora et Labora. If we don’t have such a cabinet, it is not too late to have one.
Assuming the energy crisis cabinet is in place, I am not sure if it had an input in determining the location of Zesco’s flagship project of Kafue Gorge II. Important as it is, this project is located in the southern part of the country where rainfall patterns are erratic; while appreciating that the Kafue River on which Kafue Gorge II project is located has its source in the northern part of the country where due to its proximity to the equator has abundant rainfall, there is no guarantee that the River would have sufficient water as it meanders its way through the semi arid to arid parts of southern Zambia to power two hydro power stations located on it. If this was not the case, the mighty Victoria Falls would not have “dried” because it too is on the River that has its source in the northern part of the country where rainfall is plentiful.
The water levels start decreasing as the Zambezi River flows through the arid lands of Western and Southern provinces. With this glaring example of the Victoria Falls, one can even with a reduced confidence limit infer that the Kafue River too would not have sufficient water by the time it flows past the two power generation points to drive all the installed turbines.
With this prospect in sight, the billion dollar project of Kafue Gorge II risks being a white elephant despite the admirable amount of work that has already been done.
If the energy crisis cabinet was in place at the time a decision to start the construction of the Kafue Gorge II project was made, may be other options like constructing solar panels in each of the ten provinces would have been considered or water bodies in Luapula and Northern provinces where as already alluded to, due to their proximity to the equator have sufficient rainfall and these water bodies do not flow through semi arid or arid lands would have been considered as well. North Western Province too has some water bodies that do not flow through arid areas and is also close to the equator. We however hope and trust that the decision to locate the Zesco flagship project on the Kafue River was done with due diligence; was chosen over the other options because the cost-benefit analysis outweighs them.
It should be noted that the electrical energy crisis that has gripped the nation is to a large extent due to inept planning by the Kaunda regime and those that followed.
The Kaunda regime in particular inherited a government that was very rich in foreign reserves. If this regime had foresight, it should have constructed mega hydro power stations in the northern parts of the country and by now, the country would be exporting electrical power to neighbouring countries.
It is heartwarming though that the PF government has started addressing some of these oversights by the previous regimes. A number of upgrades of existing hydro electric power stations and de
velopment of new ones are under way in Luapula and other provinces.
The PF government should equally take a pro active stance in promoting the four careers of the future that will mitigate the effects of global warming; these are careers in medicine, energy, food production and Information and computer technology.
As the effects of global warming progresses, it is anticipated that, droughts and floods will come with them a variety of diseases, with the increase in diseases, there will be demand for medical personnel and supplies.
For obvious reasons there will be demand for careers in energy and food production; one of the ways required to mitigate the effects of climate change will be automation of various process which require ICT experts to design soft and hardware.
In this regard, government should come up with deliberate programmes to increase graduates in these four career paths as part of the response to the ongoing climatic changes. Similarly, the government should come up with deliberate programmes to promote the production of food crops in the northern part of the country.
These should come as a complete package, including soil and seed testing laboratories, good feeder roads, food processing plants, more seed varieties for food crops etc. Drought resistant seeds should be developed for use in drought prone parts of the country.
Should the erratic rainfall patterns persist in the southern parts of the country, it will be prudent to consider transferring all the turbines operating in those hydro electric power stations in the southern part of the country to the new ones that should be constructed in the northern parts of the country. This is more feasible than the option of constructing a canal from the Congo River to feed into the Zambezi and Kafue Rivers. The height required to drive these turbines can be achieved through the variations to the gradient of the headdress tunnel
The country is experiencing repeated load shedding episodes against the backdrop of having 40 percent of the water resources in Southern Africa and the best light/heat intensity in the world!
In one of the Reggae maestro the late Bob Marley’s songs, he said,”… In the abundance of water, fools die of thirst…”
The country is experiencing repeated load shedding episodes against the backdrop of having 40 percent of the water resources in Southern Africa and the best light/ heat intensity in the world!