DSaT,ZaAS COLLABORATE TO HOST FIRST EVER SCIENCE CAFE ON FEASIBILITY OF SOLAR ENERGY

 DSaT,ZaAS COLLABORATE TO HOST FIRST EVER SCIENCE CAFE ON FEASIBILITY OF SOLAR ENERGY

picture used for illustration


By Alfonso Kasongo

Dziwa Science and Technology Trust -DSaT , a non government organisation promoting science communication and advancement of science and technological based solutions to country's socio-economic challenges has partnered with the Zambia Academy of Scientists to host first ever science cafe on feasibility of solar energy with the aim to encourage a broader comprehension of renewable energy across various stakeholders in Zambia.

The science cafe ,scheduled for Wednesday,October,16, 2024 in Lusaka, will also place emphasis on bridging the gap between scientific understanding and practical application.

Currently,Zambia is grappling with power deficit challenges with reciprocal effects on the economy. The country has an installed hydropower generation capacity of about 3,356.6 MW, which has depleted rapidly due to El Nino factors, creating an estimated over 750 MW power deficit.

This situation has triggered an estimated 23-hours power outage,unprecedented load management in the country's history.

Unless imports and off-grid power solutions supplement this shortfall, the southern African nation  will continue to face  disheartening challenges in meeting the 55% power demand from mines and the 45% shared by other end-users, many of whom are currently affected by this ,over 23-hour load-shedding.

And Zambia's Finance and National Planning Minister, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane recently told the national assembly during 2025 national budget that country's economy is projected to grow by 2.3 percent in 2024 compared to 5.4 percent recorded in 2023,attributing the slowdown mainly to the impact of the drought which has significantly reduced hydro-electricity generation and agriculture production.
Dr. Musokotwane linked the main drivers of increasing inflation to the recent drought, which he said resulted in increased food prices.

"the country has experienced inflationary pressure over the past year, registering 15.6 percent in September this year (2024) from 13.1 percent in December 2023."

"To moderate inflationary pressures, the Bank of Zambia tightened monetary policy, raising the Policy Rate to 13.5 percent from 11.0 percent and the statutory reserve ratio to 26.0 percent from 17.0 percent.,"Dr. Musokotwane explained.

Meanwhile an international food policy and research think-tank, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),warned that the adverse impact of climate change on the Zambian economy is projected to increase progressively over time and negatively affect poverty and food security.

The policy think-tank further projected,  that in the absence of effective mitigation efforts globally estimate climate change has the potential to reduce the southern African nation’s Gross Domestic Products GDP by about 6 percent by 2050 due to its dependence on hydro-power.




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