Dear Editor,
Gambians have lived with load shedding for half a century now. Since the days of GUC, electricity supply has depended on fossil fuel generation which may have been justifiable at that time because of the level of demand of a relatively small population.
The present total electricity demand is estimated to be 200 GWh which is minuscule compared to the city of Dakar in neighboring Senegal where Gambia now imports electricity from and until recently from Karpowership as well.
Both are extremely expensive options. Senegal in the past two decades has varied its energy sources and invested heavily in renewable energy e.g hydropower generation wind turbines and solar power to meet their national demand and have surplus capacity for export to neighboring countries like The Gambia
The Gambia since its birth as an ‘improbable nation’ has been extremely vulnerable to external shocks as a net importer of essential commodities.
Strategic products such as oil gas water and electricity must be kept within the remit of human security by policy makers and accorded the necessary investments to ensure sustainable access and supply that meet present demand and future needs.
In this regard it is imperative to vary the energy mix in generating electricity and direct significant investment to renewable energy sources particularly in solar power plants given the abundance of sunlight in the Gambia.
The ease of deployment of solar energy in remote locations as stand alone autonomous systems or as part of the grid have been demonstrated in the Gambia in the URR and in Jambur in the West Coast region.
Coupled with the fact that the costs associated with solar energy is now considered to be considerably lower than it was in the past decade and now more competitive than fossil energy.
In the past Nawec was not proactive in securing or encouraging partnerships with the private sector in the renewable energy generation segment of the energy value chain.
One of the reasons for this state of affairs may be the absence of an enabling legal and regulatory framework to incentivize this segment of the energy market.
The renewable energy act enacted more than a decade ago for all practical purposes is dormant. Nonetheless the signals from the NDP YIRIWA Plan are positive as the Gambia Government has expressed firm commitment to a private sector led development trajectory.
However, for this to become a reality in the shortest possible time frame, the Government needs to take action to address the policy gaps and make the laws that will encourage the private sector to invest and partner with Nawec.
Almamy Taal
Brusubi
