The potential of solar energy for sustainable water resource development and averting national social burden in rural areas of Zambia

About 50% of the Zambia’s population in the rural areas do not have access to an improved source of water supply, thus relies on untreated water from shallow wells, streams and rivers for drinking and other activities. The lack of access to clean water is associated with water related illnesses and other negative social impacts. This paper aimed to propose use of solar energy in water pumping systems for water supply in rural areas of Zambia. The information used is from secondary sources. Use of the solar energy in water pumping system is not only an important part of providing household with clean drinking water alternative, but also important for access to an improved source of water supply for rural households and sustainable water resource development in Zambia. The paper further investigates the potential of using solar energy in water pumping system to avert the nation’s disease burden and its sustainability using number of employment created as indicator. The analyzed results indicates that the use of solar energy in water pumping systems have the potential of reducing the Zambia’s social cost burden by 30% which translate to about US$61million saving per year and can create employment of about 24,000 in Zambia

Assessment of solar energy source distribution and potential in Zambia

Zambia is vastly endowed with a wide range of energy resources. Yet, to date, Zambia has not fully exploited its potential in solar energy utilisation for electricity generation due to various reasons such as lack of understanding of the distribution of solar energy potential in the country and limitation of access to solar energy resource information. This paper assess the solar energy distribution and potential in Zambia. Nine provinces with different geographical and climatic regions that makes up Zambia were assesed. The distribution of solar radiation within the country were assessed using spatial analysis in ArcGIS Software. The 22year period solar datasets were considered for assessment. These datasets were obtained from NASA Atmospheric Science Data Center using Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy. The analyzed results indicate that Zambia has approximately 20,442TWh/year technical solar energy potential and receives 2109.97kWh/m2 of solar energy per year with 4403.12hours of sunshine. The country has 186,121km2 available and suitable land area for RETs implementations. This study is important as it present an overview of the technical solar energy potential for Zambia which is vital for decision making, energy mix and sustainable deployment of solar energy technologies in the countr

Bioenergy potential in Nigeria, how to advance knowledge and deployment to enable SDG 7

Biomass is currently the main energy source in Nigeria, but it is being used and managed unsustainably, resulting in significant health and environmental risks. To support Nigeria's transition to an affordable, reliable, and low-emission future, there is a need to shift from traditional biomass use to modern bioenergy applications. The research reviews the existing knowledge on themes relevant to developing sustainable modern bioenergy for Nigeria in the context of agri-residues. It synthesizes the key findings on the themes from 161 scientific literature published between 2010 and 2021 on Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings show that most literature focused on agri-residues potentially available in large amounts but highly disaggregated, such as cassava and palm residues. Furthermore, the literature highlighted the importance of understanding agri-residue aggregation, technological, economic, socio-economic, governance framework of bioenergy, and the interactions with other sectors to unlock the full potential of modern bioenergy. While research acknowledged that bioenergy could enhance energy security, economic growth, and social co-benefits, there has been less focus on the benefits of novel bioenergy solutions co-created by relevant stakeholder groups in Nigeria. Involving relevant stakeholders in developing novel bioenergy solutions would address the missing link between resource assessment, appropriate technology deployment, and end-user demand. It would also enhance the analysis of the bioenergy market and nonmarket benefits and ensure that bioenergy solutions in Nigeria are aligned with community needs and foster inclusivity. This article is categorized under: Sustainable Energy > Bioenergy Policy and Economics > Governance and Regulation