HOW GLOBAL ENERGY CRISIS COULD OPEN DOOR FOR MOZAMBIQUE

The current world energy crisis is an opportunity for Mozambique and the African continent to increase exports of natural resources, the National Petroleum Institute (INP) advanced today in a conference on Energy Transition in Maputo.

Mozambique has considerable potential in energy resources and, according to the INP, can become one of the main generators of clean energy in the wake of the worldwide energy crisis that we are currently witnessing.

The entity charged with the administration and promotion of oil operations at the national level maintains that the country is in a privileged location for exporting resources to European and Asian markets, as well as to SADC hinterland countries.

“The current global energy crisis, which includes the growing demand of the European market for energy resources and also the efforts of Asia to face the volatility of energy resource prices, could create opportunities for energy resources from Africa, and from Mozambique in particular,” INP representative Marcelina Mataveia said on Wednesday during the Conference on Energy Transition organized by the Mozambique Energy Chamber.

Mozambique is often affected by climate change, and government authorities speak of the need for mass use of transition energies. The National Directorate of Renewable Energies further expects access to energy in Mozambique to rise to 64% by 2024.

“We will have a good contribution from the participation of renewable energies, a participation that is guaranteed by the new generation plants that inject energy into the grid, which is also guaranteed by off-grid electrification through mini-grids, residential solar systems made with photovoltaic resources,” explained the deputy national director for energy at the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy.

For Mozambique Energy Chamber president Florival Mucave, it is necessary to act to ensure a safe energy transition and combat climate change.

“We have to start thinking about ways to decarbonize the economy,” he said. “This means that we are going to stop producing coal, the little that still exists, it means that we have to rethink the production of gas, although it has been decided that gas is a transitional energy, but not eternal. We have to think about what the transition in its true sense represents for Mozambique.”

The electrification strategy in Mozambique was approved in 2018, with universal access by 2030 as its main objective.

SOURCE: ClubofMozambique