Renewable Energy Supply for Rural Areas
By Christopher JATOR, Cameroon Tribune, 09-04-2014
SMEs are called upon to set up small hydro and biomass electricity production plants.
The energy situation in rural Cameroon is characterised by traditional fuels like kerosene, wood, and low-power generators. Where the national power utility corporation is present, electricity supplies are unreliable, access limited, use often inefficient, and are still without access to modern energy services.
SMEs are called upon to set up small hydro and biomass electricity production plants.
The energy situation in rural Cameroon is characterised by traditional fuels like kerosene, wood, and low-power generators. Where the national power utility corporation is present, electricity supplies are unreliable, access limited, use often inefficient, and are still without access to modern energy services.
With
funds from the European Union, provision was made for the organisation
of two training workshops on the technical aspects and business model of
production and distribution projects of electric energy using
hydropower and agricultural residues, for the benefit of at least 100
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Cameroon. Douala is the
second after Yaounde to host the workshop to spur SMEs to set up hydro
and biomass electricity production plant projects. The workshop underway
in Douala runs through Monday, April 7 to Friday, April 11. The purpose
is to vulgarise decentralised production technologies of electric
energy via the use of small hydroelectric plants and agricultural or
forestry residues, amongst others.
In his
opening remarks, Jean Pierre Kedi, General Manager of the Electricity
Regulatory Agency (ARSEL), said 850.000 Cameroonians are subscribed to
electricity; 600.000 being domestic subscribers, giving less than 15% of
the total population, which remains low and is a handicap to the
production of goods and services.
Cameroon,
according to Mr. Kedi, is the second with the best potential for
electricity production in Africa. What therefore accounts for the
insufficient electricity supply in the country? Hear him: “We did a
wrong choice of our electricity source, neglected maintenance and did
not modernise the sector.” Cameroon will only find solace from its
current electricity crisis if it creates competitiveness – a major
outcome expected of the applied training workshop.
SME
representatives were encouraged to invest in the electricity sector,
which is more profitable than cocoa and coffee. Participants were called
upon to stop believing that investment in the sector is achievable only
with foreign funding, noting that even with their own resources, it is
still feasible and profitable. SMEs are, therefore, spurred to seize the
opportunity to set up small hydroelectricity production plants at some
200 sources identified in the country.
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