Renewable Energies: An option to supply energy services in Mozambique

Energy options are crucial in a country’s development framework, since they represent an inductor element and catalyst of several related economic activities, as well as a driver of social changes for rural, peri-urban and urban communities.
 

Mozambique’s exponential energy demand growth, has not been followed by a correspondent offer. For this reason, there has been the need to segment the answer to the demand, as well as to have a geospatial intervention approach based on rational and sustainable options.
 

A market structure based on demand segmentation enables accelerating technology penetration and increaser users’ awareness about the real value the products offered.

The population geography in Mozambique indicates the presence of about 68% of inhabitants in rural areas distributed in scattered locations. This fact inflicts energy measures for this population segment, also taking into account that today energy access levels are around 40%, 14% of which off-grid.

On the one hand, renewables express the ideal and sustainable off-grid systems, taking into account that the resource is endogenous and free of costs. On the other hand, the technologies used are easier to develop and simpler to operate and maintain. In addition, off-grid systems can open up the market to a new era; the era of the business models operated by the private sector or by public-private partnerships.

These models can induce the rapid expansion of mini-grids and other energy service options. We must invest in these models in order to accelerate energy access in Mozambique.

António Saíde, Chief Executive Officer, FUNAE - Mozambique Energy Fund