By Ismail Musa Ladu
Kampala : Government has applauded a move by a Chinese company willing to inject $2 billion (Shs7.2 trillion) in the development of biomass energy across the country. Biomass fuels can be generated from living things, wood products, dried vegetation, crop residues, and aquatic plants, among others.
In an interview, senior officials of Shanghai Electric, a multinational power generation and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai, China, said an alternative power source like the biomass can efficiently solve the power shortage the country is experiencing.
“We are prepared to invest as much as we can in this project-biomass. However, averagely, we are looking at injecting at least $2billion (about Shs7.2trillion),” the general manager of Fuji Electric, Mr Deng Yuntian, who is representing the chairman and president of Shanghai Electric Group, told Daily Monitor last week.
He added: “Power is the backbone of any developed economy. And we have alternative technologies to help Uganda generate biomass energy. We can generate twice as much energy from papyrus and agricultural waste as what is being generated from hydropower.”
According to Mr Deng, they are here on a fact finding mission following an invitation by President Museveni when he toured their plant in China recently.
And so far, he said, they are impressed with the country’s potential and are keen on working with the government in fulfillment of the project.
When contacted earlier in the week, the head of communication at the Ministry of Energy, Mr Matovu Bukenya, said the total power capacity generated that is less than 1000 Megawatts, cannot keep up with the annual consumption growth rate of four per cent.
And for that, the move by the Chinese-based power transmission and generation company, is a step in the right direction, especially if they formalise their engagement with the ministry, according to Mr Bukenya.
He said: “We want all forms of power and they should come to the ministry so that we can formally start to work with them and guide them where necessary.”
According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development Biomass Energy Strategy, 2013, the country’s main challenge is not insufficient supply of biomass but rather the technology to utilise the diverse forms of biomass.
The government strategy also indicates that biomass is poised to be a significant source of modern and clean forms of energy like electricity, a development that is already happening in some sectors such as the sugar industry.
