Africa-Press – Eswatini. The endgame for Eswatini is to generate enough power to attract significant investments in many sectors and industries as well as to be a net exporter of energy.
Speaking during the Energy Security and Transition Session held on the sideline of the Italy- Africa Summit in Rome, Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini said there was no doubt that with the guaranteed market, significant benefits await those who dare partner with Eswatini. He said as Eswatini Government, they were mindful that the pursuit of advanced technologies and sustainable energy practices would require significant investment. Dlamini noted that European countries and institutions, were renowned for their support and investment in renewable energy and clean technology initiatives. He said therefore, as Eswatini, they welcomed the holding of this summit as timely. He said through institutional frameworks and through bilateral cooperation, they believed that they could collaborate with Europe to their mutual benefit.
Generates
Eswatini currently generates locally about 15 per cent of its required energy, through renewable means including solar power and hydropower. Green energy generation is the path that Eswatini has chosen, hence 100 per cent of locally generated power is renewable energy. The balance of the energy requirements, which is about 75 per cent, is imported from neighbouring countries at a high cost. Besides being unsustainable economically, its generation is also environmentally unsustainable. Dlamini stated that Eswatini was faced with the urgency of attaining energy security and needed tremendous improvement in her clean technology local production as well as investment in renewables to attain energy security.
Resources
“We are faced with a conundrum to use our abundant natural resources including coal in generating power or to continue draining our economy with unsustainable imports to meet the gap,” he said. He highlighted that disasters such as prolonged droughts have also exposed the limits of hydropower generation in the country’s environment. “They have become more frequent and intense and, therefore, disruptive in our hydropower generation and reliance,” said the PM. Dlamini added that thus far, Eswatini has chosen to pursue clean methods of generating power, however, time was not on its side. “We, therefore, declare that our country is seeking for partnerships in generating power to attain energy security and hope that we can generate interest from forums such as this,” Dlamini said.
He said it was understood that Europe has advanced technologies for cleaner coal utilisation and renewables, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) techniques. He said collaborating with European partners could allow Eswatini to adopt more environmentally friendly power generation methods, reducing emissions and environmental impact. He said this transfer of technology was one that could lead to mutual benefit for all parties.
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