By HELEN ZULU –
ZAMBIA could save almost US$1 billion in five years by substituting the 406 million litres of petrol used in the country, the Biofuels Association of Zambia (BAZ) has said.
BAZ chairperson Thomson Sinkala said the amount saved could be ploughed back into the rural communities that would be involved in the project.
“No matter the negative propaganda, it is hard to out-compete the value of the bioenergy industry to Zambia.
“More than $950 million of wealth per year can go into rural people’s pockets in less than five years if we substituted the 406 million litres of petrol we consume in Zambia today with bioethanol,” he said.
He said this when he presented a paper on the role of biofuels in the national energy mix at the just-ended second Zambia International Energy Conference (ZIEC) held in Lusaka on Tuesday.
Professor Sinkala said this would stimulate self-driving demand for e-Learning to boost productivity in rural areas and also eliminate the numerous poverty-related practices which accelerate environmental degradation in Zambia.
He said there was need for the reduction of interest rates for investment fund to enable meaningful participation by Zambians in the biofuels industry.
He said there was need for Government to catalyse or facilitate a low interest investment fund to enable meaningful participation by Zambians in the biofuels industry.
Prof Sinkala said this would enable the biofuels industry to take off and contribute to the energy security in the country.
“Bioenergy can significantly contribute to energy security, efficiency and access in Zambia which is currently experiencing energy problems; poverty reduction by providing jobs and involving rural communities in energy production system,” Prof Sinkala said.
He said Government as the main market should re-advertise biofuels tenders for an assured market and put in place biofuels specific incentives to accelerate industry takeoff and realisation of the numerous benefits.
Prof Sinkala said the Energy Regulations Board (ERB) should also finalise the biofuels cost-reflective prices.
Prof Sinkala said this could also help to stabilise the Kwacha by reducing demand on the foreign currencies to import fuels and the reduction in climate change.