Story by Jonathan Marerwa in Beijing
A senior Chinese official says African governments must be supported to migrate from the dependency on non-renewable energy to clean energy sources.
The vice president of the state-owned Power Construction Corporation of China, PowerChina, responsible for Central and West Africa, Huang Gang, made the call this Thursday at the company headquarters in Beijing while speaking to some media members attached to the China International Press Communication Centre.
Mr Huang said there is need for most African nations to move away from fossil energy and also to cut over reliance on hydro electric power.
He noted that the unpredictability of rainfall is making the generation of hydro-electricity unreliable, thereby plunging many nations into darkness.
Mr Huang added that fossil fuels come with their own challenges such as depletion and pollution.
He revealed that China has been helping many African countries with the best technical knowledge in a bid to develop state of the art power generating plants.
Mr Huang also said the fact that most African countries are endowed with plenty of sunshine for the better part of the year should make solar energy generation a priority.
Meanwhile, Mr Huang has urged African countries to connect solar energy to the national grid to complement traditional power generation mechanisms so as to minimise power deficiencies.
Some of PowerChina’s operations in Zimbabwe include the Hwange Power Station Expansion project, the Nyabira Solar Station, a 25 megawatt solar power station that is expected to contribute to the national grid and the Batoka Gorge South, a 1 200 megawatt hydro power project that is planned on the Zambezi River Basin in Matabeleland North Province.
