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For those who don’t know or need to brush up on their geography a bit, Zambia sits between central, southern, and eastern Africa. The GDP per capita in the country, at less than $1,000 per annum, makes it one of the lowest in Africa, too.
It’s not in an excellent position economically speaking, which makes it, unsurprisingly, not in an excellent position ecologically speaking. After all, developed countries, while mostly being responsible for carbon emissions, also have the money to do something about it when it comes to green projects and schemes.
Zambia’s problem isn’t necessarily due to huge amounts of industry and emissions, but rather the fact that it doesn’t have a single operating refinery in the country and imports 100% of its fossil fuels.
Additionally, most of the country lives off-grid and while this is quite green in some ways, the reliance on charcoal for heating and cooking is leading to a lot of deforestation. Zambia has the world’s highest rate of deforestation.
Biomass is the Solution
One way to reduce the consumption of charcoal and, therefore, reduce deforestation in the country is through biomass, green fuels, and syngas as this uses energy crops that offer higher yields and better amounts of energy per hectare than trees and wood ever could.
The miscanthus giganteus plant is often referred to as the ideal energy crop. It’s perennial, can be harvested yearly after the second year, and, despite the high initial costs of establishing the crop, is cheap to maintain, low maintenance, can be irrigated by non-mechanical means, and requires very little pesticide and herbicide.
Once harvested, it can be turned into briquettes to be used for cooking and heating or refined into liquid or gaseous fuels such as green diesel or syngas.
Zambia needs more green fuel and miscanthus plantations can also offer a lot to local subsistence farmers and communities that would benefit from using less charcoal. Fortunately, the Muchinga region is home to some land that one company, SavSmart Biomass, is using for that very purpose.
Why Muchinga Province is So Good for Energy Crop Plantations
Zambia needs biomass and the Muchinga Province is home to a subtropical climate that’s suitable for growing miscanthus giganteus without mechanical irrigation.
The site chosen by SavSmart Biomass is also in a sparsely populated area and won’t displace any local inhabitants. Similarly, it has nearby access to the highway connecting Zambia, Tanzania, and Zambia’s closest port, Dar es Salam.
This project could make a huge difference to Zambia’s green fuel industry, the locals’ reliance on charcoal and the subsequent deforestation, and create many jobs in the region.
The positive impact should be significant, which is why founding investors like Tor Anders Petterøe and Michael Silver believe in it enough to support the company over the initial hurdles of getting set up, acquiring the land, and partnering with the universities, NGOs, and other companies to make all this happen.
If this kind of project works in the Muchinga Province, it could apply to other regions and across Africa.
