Govt should focus on hydro projects and not solar to meet the 10, 000MW target

The Zambian government is targeting to reach […]

The Zambian government is targeting to reach 10,000 megawatts of power generation countrywide by 2031.

However, according to some experts, the target can only be reached if serious investments are taken in establishing hydro power stations across the country, considering that the country has 7 major rivers, 4 lakes, and over 90 waterfalls.

 Commenting on the matter in an interview with the Zambian Business Times, ZBT Private Sector Development Association of Zambia Chairperson Yusuf Dodia has described the target as achievable but only when investment is directed to hydro power station establishment as opposed to the current situation of solar investment.

“It is doable, but my concern is on the path that lets the country choose to achieve the 10,000 megawatts. It is the fact that it appears the target for the government is to use solar power plants, which means establishing a lot of them within the country to produce electricity to add 6000 MW to the current 4000 MW the country has to make it 10,000 MW from the announcements made,” said Dodia.

He added that using solar energy to achieve the 6000 megawatts target by 2030 is a short-lived solution because solar power plants require huge capacity of battery banks to store power, which makes it more expensive.

“In my view, government using solar energy to achieve 6000 MW in the next 5 years is a short-lived solution due to solar power plants requiring a huge number of battery banks to store power; therefore, we would have to be changing batteries every five years and create toxic waste from the batteries, which are no longer functional, which is an environmental hazard,” said Dodia.

 He mentioned that the obvious way Zambia can achieve the 10,000 megawatts of electric power is by focusing on hydropower, taking advantage of the 7 major rivers and lakes the country holds.

 “The only obvious way Zambia can achieve the targeted 10,000 megawatts is by focusing on or investing in hydropower, especially considering that the country has 7 major rivers, 4 big lakes, and over 90 waterfalls, which are water bodies that can generate electricity for a sustainable future,” said Dodia.

He further added that advisers who have advised the government in the past have misled the government in thinking that because the country experiences dry seasons, hydropower generation might be drastically reduced, which shouldn’t be the case.

Article by Justine Phiri