Alternative Energy HQ solar power for homes, wind energy, and bio fuel issues
In December 2004, a UNECA sponsored study conducted by CEMMATS Aggroup Ltd., a local consulting firm, involved various stakeholders in the sector to formulate an energy policy. The CEMMAT’s energy agenda for Sierra Leone in terms of policy and management represents an significant set of instruments that fundamentally encapsulates a multi-disciplinary structure bringing together sectors of the energy community – the Ministry of earth 4 energy and Power (MEP), the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Certificate (MAFS), Presidential Petroleum Commission, and the Ministry of Mineral Resources (MMR). These line Ministries of relevancy to the energy agenda, where their various roles are goes specified, get ruled the development of the country’s energy policy. The basic premise of this multi-disciplinary structure is that it is serious for the effective and economic coordination of the management of the country’s indigenous energy resources. Nonetheless, it voices as though it would be unattainable to coordinate these so some organisations in a country with a history of corruption and mismanagement. Simply it is not unusual to get various Ministries workings in coordination to achieve national development targets. Besides, the particular tasks and techniques of operation that influence the ability of these Ministries to create the enabling environment for private sakes to ably conduct measure added commercialised actions with the country’s energy resources are defined.
This structure, for example, places the Ministry of Zip Power in a central position as the governmental authority responsible for the electricity and water sectors and its mandates includes sector policy formulation, sector planning and coordination. The Ministry is supported by the Office of the Permanent Secretary, the Water Supply Division (WSD), the Radiation Protection Unit, and the National Zip & Water Policy, Planning, and Coordination Unit (NEWPPCU). Below the Ministry’s purview as best is handling issues associated to electrical ability supply, accepting that from hydroelectric schemes and, nominally renewable energy issues associated to solar and wind energy through the utility programs companies – the National Power Dominance (NPA)/Bo-Kenema Power Helps (BKPS); the Guma Valley Water Party (GVWC); the Sierra Leone Water Party (SALWACO); and the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Picture (BHP).
The roles of other Ministries are restricted to handling petroleum commercializing gross sales below the purview of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Finance; biomass issues (plant and animal-derived subject) especially fuel wood handled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Certificate (MAFS); and the extraction of minerals, accepting energy associated minerals like coal and ore dealt with by the Ministry of Mineral Resources (MMR).
The energy sector maintains this organizational structure to produce and implement inter-disciplinary energy-related policies. The functions of these various Ministries and other authorities as they relate to their responsibilities for various energy resources are defined in the relevant Acts of Parliament (accessible via government gazettes) and pertinent regulations. Several of the relevant Acts include the NPA Act, 1982; the NPA (Amendment) Act, 2005; Forestry Act, 1998; and the Petroleum Act, 2002. On that point is also the draft energy policy document set up by CEMMATS which is yet to be adopted. The policy document has been formulated in the context of standard economic, friendly and environmental policies; mindful as best of the nature and linkages of the energy sector with other sectors; and the international and regional linkages of the sector.
Furthermore, finding efficiency and economic value, from an international investor’s perspective, within a system of such complicated oversight is took less complicated with “the Sierra Leone Export Growth and Investment funds Corporation (SLEDIC), a statutory body established by section two of the SLEDIC Act, 1993, with the primary objective of facilitating the registration of business enterprises; assisting investors in obtaining permits, licenses, certificates or clearances, as the case may be, required for the commencement of job; leaving info to future investors on issues linking to investment funds; and assisting future investors in identifying mutual venture partners in Sierra Leone”. The priority investment funds areas SLEDIC is promoting therefore include:
? Zip and ability sector (independent ability providers)
? Agriculture and Agro-Processing
? Mining Sector (Kimberlite Mining)
? Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation
? Privatization of state-owned enterprises
? Establishment and development of Export Processing Zone (EPZ)
? Infrastructure (Railway, Roads, Telecommunication, Water Supply) etc.
Sierra Leone is far soft the under-exploited curve in terms of its energy endowment. The fact is, there are untapped energy imaginations, that the nation requires these imaginations, and that the energy manufacture can coordinate the exploitation of these resources with less environmental affect. Sierra Leone’s indigenous energy resources of a renewable nature which include biomass, solar, wind and hydropower has the future to allow opportunities for Sierra Leonean households at all points. The country’s biomass intensity is most 656,000 tons of crop rots. It has an annual energy future of 2,700 GWh that can be exploited for cooking, passing and some ability applications. A commercially viable biomass supply therefore goes but discussion most biomass facilities has not attracted much discussion and promotion by the government. The Government of Sierra Leone has not seriously addressed energy, fuel and water efficiency in all sectors of economic activity, and has not industrialized capacities for optimal use of average resources for sustainable biomass (unicellular-energy crops-residues-waste). Simply notwithstanding its lack of interest in bio-prospecting, the government is not going to stand in the direction if orthodox biomass firms in Europe and the United States are involved in developing this future in Sierra Leone.
The country also has a solar radiation future of between 1460 kWh/m2/yr and 1800 kWh/m2/yr annually. This can be exploited for passing and water pumping, among other applications. These resources allow an intriguing glimpse of a nation that might get had a sustainable supply of ability and profitable exploitation of its promising energy imaginations, had energy efficiency remained a core measure of the country after independence. The destination for sustained economic growth and development shall be saw in terms of supervising the filled utilization of these resources.
The hydro future in the country has also been an epic story. The network of rivers in the country allows an chance for hydroelectricity with done 21 internet sites already identified as capable of producing future hydro power. The conservatively estimated output at 1,200MW, recorded in the 1996 Power Sector Master Program by Lahmeyer International, is necessitated by the country’s extensive network of rivers and tributaries. The completion of the current Bumbuna project (Phase I electrical capacity 50 MW, total electrical capacity 275 MW) and the envisaged Bekongor project (Bekongor III electrical capacity 85 MW, total electrical capacity 200 MW) – two of the some big projects that are economically exploitable – is good for the development of the country and for Sierra Leone businesses. Simply the political will has to be there to gain the Bumbuna project to 100% completion. On that point is also the require to create the supporting environment for private companies to invest in mini-hydro, or “run-of-the-river” hydro ability stations. The Bumbuna project, which “can eventually got the backbone of a national grid, has the future to make a substantial positive impact on the national electricity supply” (CEMMAT Policy Document, 2004).
In terms of ability infrastructure, the national ability stations in the major cities and towns, which are really a accumulation of regional ability stations, requires some recent infrastructure and recent ideas. “Most of the provincial stations and networks are in a state of total disrepair. The cost required to gain them back to their pre-1994 levels is estimated at Euro 13 million” (CEMMAT Policy Document, 2004). The Bo-Kenema Power Helps (BKPS) which has a mixed hydro-thermal operation capacities of 5MW and 4MW at Bo and Dodo (Kenema) respectively faces the said management troubles with its commercialised operations as NPA. Rural electricity supply is non-existent. A recent electricity policy is overdue, though the specifics matter, the CEMMATS draft on energy policy is instructive in this regard.
On that point are fairly quantified fossil fuels (hydrocarbons) with commercialised measure in Sierra Leone. These include substantial ignite deposits and crude oil which get not been exploited. These fossil resources get not been the right way assessed to determine their future measure for practical and profitable exploration. Though past administrations had proposed to trade concessions for prospecting for oil and other valuable mineral resources in the country, there had constantly been institutional secrecy surrounding the future existence of oil as a beginning of wealth origination for Sierra Leone. “The location, extent, and quality of the observe get remained a subject of uninformed speculation, intense curiosity, and often-wild conjecture. It is a state of affairs to which some official secrecy and the lack of transparency in the conduct of world affairs in Sierra Leone get largely contributed” (Focus Sierra Leone). The Petroleum Resources Unit, below the authority of the current President and headed by a Director–General covers to oversee the possibilities of exploration of these petroleum resources especially with European and/or American investment funds companies. It is the position of the government of President Koroma that whatsoever economic benefits that are connected to the exploration of fossil fuels shall be in the interest of national growth.
Serious governance groups and the masses roundly criticized past administrations for inadequate values on energy supplies in the country. Earlier administrations failed to put real dollars in the energy sector where they would get had a direct impact on advancing enough and sustainable supply of electricity in the country. More than opportunities can also get been created to effectively support other forms of renewable zip. All in all, the energy future is undoubtedly good. Simply more than emphasis has to be placed on a more than investment-friendly energy policy, particularly on opening the energy marketplace to big greatest investments and broadening incentives for investment funds. The reality is, there is the require (the marketplace) for more than domestic energy and more than imported zip.
The greatest natural endowments in the energy manufacture get to be accessed and retained to coordinate and efficiently manage an A+ energy program for Sierra Leone. The country requires a balance of vision in the form of a grand scheme to curtail the difficulties the country faces with commercialised energy supplies, particularly electricity supply. Attainable short-, medium-, and long-term steps to gain the country there get to be much laid out. And while the grand scheme is goes put in place, the government shall not break to connect energy to climate transfer. Global warming has proved to be as horrendous a global take exception as the War on Terror.
Capital Investment funds and the Zip Marketplace
Certainly, one major component for successful energy policy and management is financial resources. Simply the energy sector in Sierra Leone struggles with restricted budgets and inadequate legislation that has not permitted for the growth of the energy sector, let only allow a sustainable supply of electricity to the urban and rural customers. Clearly, done the age, past administrations were not in a position where they can open to sagely invest or even create an enabling environment for overseas investments in the energy sector simply because of widespread corruption in world administration. The National Power Authority, for example, has unpaid debts of Le23.4 billion and unpaid client bills of Le16.2 billion as best as fuel bills to petroleum companies of Le8 billion. The utility authority also has a defective transmission and distribution system with 35% technical losses; and an electricity drop from 28MW from five diesel engines to 6MW from one diesel engine among other problems.
Other logistical challenges include the procurement, storage and transportation of petroleum wares. “Sierra Leone is nearly totally dependent on imports for all its petroleum requires and machinery as best as spare parts” (CEMMAT Policy Document, 2004). Petroleum wares are transported by route utilizing tankers. The poor state of the roads exacerbates several troubles with transportation.
In plus, increasing funds devoted to energy supply has entirely helped relatively small, made the impoverished state of the country. Sierra Leone makes get a smaller Gross National Ware (GNP) with quantities allocated to the sector direction considerably less than investments took by countries with larger GNPs. However, it is not entirely the total amount of money from the GNP that counts, but also how that GNP allocation is supplemented by overseas direct investments and how such investments in the sector are spent.
Besides, it is possible for the government to observe funds to support its energy sector. In 2001, for example, the World Banking company Aggroup funds estimated at US$7.5 million were took available to the government of Sierra Leone below former President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah to buy a recent engine to increase electricity electrical capacity. Simply a used and poorly rebuilt 7.5 megawatts diesel engine went received.
And quite recently, “coinciding with the see of the President of Sierra Leone to the UK, Douglas Alexander, the Secretary of State for International Growth announced two programs of assistance to Sierra Leone totaling ?36 million [– with] ?20 million to support the establishing up of energy sector in Sierra Leone [that] shall allow a sustainable electricity supply to the one million residents of Freetown and allow passing and ability for wellness centers, water pumping stations, colleges and police stations” (Press Release).
In view of all these possibilities, a perennial matter that essential be addressed in order to build a sustainable electrical capacity in the energy sector is a change of mental capacity in society and among decision-makers. “No capacity-building initiatives will succeed if governments and the world are not determined to change the situation” (Embo Reports). Now there is desire with the recent democratic dispensation. On assumption of office, President Koroma took a pronouncement that energy is his topmost priority. To a big extent, Koroma’s Government is therefore supportive of greatest investment funds in the energy sector. May be, what the Koroma administration also requires to do is to support a have energy sector initiative in electrical capacity establishing by calling the trouble of proper allocation of funds and supervising a sustainable energy supply mechanism.
The scheme already goes pursued by the Koroma administration which is the actualization of an “energy stimulus plan” for Freetown and the entire country is commendable. A Presidential Emergency Labor Force has been created to oversee the increase of electricity electrical capacity in the country. Measures get also been made to require private sakes in the energy sector. 2 48MW individual ability producer (IPP) contracts with the Nigerian investment funds party Revenue Electrix and the US investment funds party DELAMORE get lately been signed by the Sierra Leone Government to bring to the electrical capacity of electricity supply. Revenue Electrix has already embarked equipment and mobilizing to direction a 10MW generator at Black Hall Route to supply electricity to the east part of Freetown. A Sierra Leone Government partnership with the Nigerian party Revenue Electrix is a good investment funds scheme for some countries. Even though Nigeria’s focus on goes a leading economy via its oil manufacture has its challenges, Nigeria’s portion of global oil reserves is quite impressive. The take exception for Nigeria’s oil exploitation is not a scarcity of world-scale oil reservoirs, rather it is connecting those oil reserves to long-term client loyalties and the greatest required to build oil refineries or multi-thousand knot pipelines. Nigeria’s oil reserves create a tremendous chance to align and integrate with Africa, rather than holding Africa hostage to scarcity. A big part of any diplomacy with Nigeria shall focus on helping Nigeria to look the benefits of such a relationship.
By and large, Sierra Leone’s energy “industry shows the future to contribute as much as Le 46 billion (approximately US$ 16 gazillion) annually to government profit in terms of Excise Tax and Route Users Tax” (CEMMAT Policy Document, 2004). The future is marvelous even when the demand for energy in the industrial and commercialised sectors is primarily met by self auto-generation which has negative economic consequences. Michael Conteh, resident technical consultant who is playing a coordinating role in the Ministry of Zip and Power and its relations to the other Ministries and utility companies as best as monitoring the ability system and leaving technical advice to the ministry has spoken quite reassuringly most the under-exploited state of Sierra Leone’s vast energy future. According to his expert noesis of the energy sector, “currently, there are zero programs in the country for supplementary energies. Sierra Leone’s energy mix is real limited. Apart from cooking that is most 95% dependent on biomass, Sierra Leone is nearly 100% dependent on imported petroleum wares and electricity for all its energy needs.” Again, restoring the operations of the Sierra Leone Petroleum Refinery Corporation (SLPRC) which has a distillation future electrical capacity of 700,000 metric tons has the possibilities of generating more than profit for the government. The corporation takes stable investment funds to sustain its distillation electrical capacity. Bringing together the five petroleum major overseas oil and oil helps companies functioning in the country namely Mobil, National Petroleum Party (NP), Safecon, Unipetrol and Leonoil, and/or other investors within the SLPRC is critical to revamp the refinery’s operations and to invigorate the market’s coming future and stimulating the raise of alternatives.
The structure of energy royalties is spelt away in the Localized Government Act, 2004 (Local Government Act, 2004). Simply Sierra Leone’s energy sector, with its multifaceted mix of world and private actors, has a bleak history of weak monitoring, down transparency, and inadequate civil function pay and benefits; and incentives for illicit gain are rife. The sector has the future to give substantial money transactions compared with other helps and infrastructure sectors such as water and sanitation or use of roads. Simply the common forms of corruption plaguing the sector takes petty corruption which is prevalent at the interface with clients when bribes are paid to or demanded by meter reviewers or safety inspectors and illicit sale of fuel oils. There are also some illegal connections by low-income as best as high-income households and commercialised establishments. The aggregate impact of “petty corruption” may be far from petty because reds may amount to more than than $10 million all yr. Inadequate profit accumulation and other corrupt practices lead to deteriorating function with frequent blackouts and supply interruptions.
The viability of the energy sector therefore takes a strategic study of the intricate schemes of sustainable ability supply and profit collection. Governments can act decisively to deal with corruption in the energy sector—most involving privatization, competition, more than transparent principles, and more than disclosure. Reforms in the energy sector can be in the form of marketings particular actions such as the energy distribution system utilizing prepaid meters to strategic investors with a established cover book and a long-term interest in the business. The prepaid meter system presently piloted in Freetown has the future to increase profit accumulation and reduce corruption in the sector. Most 2000 prepaid meters are presently in use. The government has contracted the Chinese investment funds company, the Sierra Leone Gouji Investment funds and Development, Ltd. for supply of 100,000 prepaid meters. “Chinese influence in the investment funds climate is growing steadily [superseding European and US investment] to the extent that a Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry went launched in 2005. The government has been supportive of Chinese investment funds initiatives, apparently because of some years of Chinese government assistance to Sierra Leone. The Bintumani Hotel, ravaged by invading rebels in 1999, is on lease for 25 years to Beijing Construction. The Chinese get transformed a former home for the displaced, the National Workshop, into a showpiece tractor-assembly plant [from which the Gouji prepaid meters goes piloted in Freetown are also distributed]” (African Survey of Job and Technology). Nevertheless, a recent Sierra Leone below President Koroma is now open for business and the reforms in the energy sector the recent administration is advancing include as best more than transparent marketplace rules and coordinating an individual regulatory body with more than presidential oversight to oversee the economic management of a more than imaginative energy sector.
Efforts to address energy supply and coordination challenges shall be placed in a big policy framework that addresses other friendly matters. More than notably, such schemes shall be part of policies fashioned to use up-to-date and economic energy helps to achieve sustainable development goals. Adequate resources ought to be took available for investment funds in oil exploration and development actions and there has to be investor-friendly legal and regulatory framework to attract oil exploration companies. On that point are issues of supply and storage limitations for various petroleum wares and the necessity to re-launch refining operation in the country. And when have and unified standards for functioning retail outlets are also put in place, access to up-to-date and economic energy resources is ensured.
