Uganda government should Increase funding for alternative energy sources for power generation.

Increase funding for Uganda's alternative energy sources for power generation

With the recent commissioning of a mega steel factory in Namanve ,mukono district that needs 48MW  to operate and the fact that currently the power demand surpasses supply, There’s need to develop alternative renewable energy sources such as geothermal for a  more resilient and stable power supply to meet the increasing consumer demand.

Most of Uganda's 800 MW power output comes from hydro power generation. This has made Uganda vulnerable to climate change impacts, such as prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall patterns, this coupled with continuous degradation of the environment around L. Victoria raises questions about the sustainability of Uganda’s dams and reliability of Hydro-power. Also, statistics from Electricity Regulatory Authority indicate that peak demand for power is growing by 15% every year.

There’s need to develop alternative renewable energy sources such as geothermal for a  more resilient and stable power supply to meet the increasing consumer demand, reduce power shortages and undesirable load shedding. This necessitates dedicating efforts to investing in geothermal energy.

With an estimated 400MW of untapped geothermal energy potential, Uganda is yet to put this to use. Earlier this year, government, through Uganda Electricity Transmission Company, signed a power purchase agreement with AEE systems an American based firm, in joint venture with local company, Katwe Geothermal, to start the exploitation of geothermal energy in Kasese district. This was a remarkable step for government as it has over-hyped large hydro-power projects at the expense of other energy sources.

Geothermal has numerous advantages. It’s a low carbon, green energy source with no adverse effects on the environment, not affected by drought and climatic variability which makes it a suitable energy source for power generation .Government should factor climate change impacts in any further energy investments.

In the meantime, our neighbours in Kenya boast of the Olkaria geothermal plant, biggest geothermal plant in East Africa, the country has ripped in increased generation of electricity as the plant supplies 187 MW of electricity, enough to serve 500,000 households. By 2030, the plant is expected to supply 7000 MW. Kenya’s geothermal project is a model other African countries can learn from and transform the lives of the common man and woman.

Government should increase budget allocations and encourage Public-private partnerships as this will scale up resources for investment in alternative renewable energy sources.Also, it is paramount to invest in training highly skilled technicians and researchers because geothermal development requires highly qualified people.

Diana Taremwa Karakire