Northern Uganda has great potential for renewable energy, which if harnessed, can play an important role in addressing the challenges of energy security, access and affordability.
In the coming years, the rising energy demand due to population growth (about 10-12 per cent per year), rapid urbanization and economic development will call for urgent action to exploit the region’s tremendous renewable energy resources.
Following the successful “Clean Energy for a Better Life campaign” last year, November 2019 that was climaxed by the Gulu Energy Expo at Kaunda Grounds in Gulu, GIZ-PREEEP in partnership with Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) and Uganda National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Alliance (UNREEEA) is implementing the second phase of the awareness campaign programme “Clean Energy for a Better Life” to bring companies engaged in renewable energy/energy efficiency technologies closer to the consumers such as SMEs and institutions in Northern Uganda (West Nile , Lango and Acholi sub region as well as Soroti district).
As part of the efforts to increase rural electrification, households, businesses and social institutions in Northern Uganda will have an opportunity to be educated on the access and available technologies and products that promote efficient use of clean energy.
This will be during the six-month long clean energy media campaign starting in December 2020 on seven radio stations in Northern Uganda.
Esther N. Nyanzi, Chief Executive Officer, The Uganda National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Alliance (UNREEEA) says, “We had a successful expo in Gulu last year and we are excited to do it again in Lira. The expo is part of a bigger, three-yearcampaign aimed at increasingawareness and eventually uptake of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies and increasing private sector investment in these technologies in Northern Uganda. We plan to have this expo next year in Lira as part of the rotation plan to reach all parts of the region.”
“The clean energy expos in these towns will advance the government’s efforts through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to tackle the challenge of low levels of awareness of renewable energy and energy efficient solutions, inefficient biomass technologies, the unsustainable use of the available resources and inefficient use of energy,” says Eng. Simon T. Kalanzi, Assistant Commissioner MEMD
“We hope that by the end of the campaign, there will be an increase in the consumption of clean energy in Northern Uganda. Once achieved, this will bring the country closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 7, which seeks to ensure access to affordable reliable sustainable and modern energy for all by the year 2030,” he adds.
Credit: businessfocus.co.ug
