KEY POINTS
- Sierra Leone plans to require mining firms to use grid power.
- The $10.9 billion plan seeks 90% renewable energy by 2050.
- Power access could expand to more households and businesses.
In an effort to increase power consumption and draw in investment, Sierra Leone is pushing mining companies to join its electrical system as part of a $10.9 billion renewable energy expansion.Â
To extract minerals including iron ore, diamonds, rutile, and bauxite, the majority of mining companies currently use diesel generators.
Ambitious renewable energy expansion targets 4,500 MW by 2050
By 2050, the ambitious plan hopes to increase the country’s electrical capacity by 15 times, to 4,500 megawatts, with 90% of that power coming from renewable sources. Given that the nation’s installed capacity is now only 300 MW, this is a significant advancement.
According to mining weekly, many people in Sierra Leone are dependent on private generators because the country’s power output is insufficient for the small number of homes and businesses that are now linked to the grid. More than 500 MW of power is produced independently by the mining industry, which contributes 70% of the nation’s export revenue. Some of the biggest mining activities are run by businesses like China Kingho Energy Group and the UK-based Gerald Group.
High costs push Sierra Leone to court foreign investors
Kandeh Yumkella, chairman of a presidential initiative on climate change and renewable energy, said connecting mining companies to the grid might help draw in private investment and turn a profit for the national utility.
Yumkella stated that “if we do that, our utility becomes profitable immediately.” “This move could help mining companies “green” their operations,” he noted.
In one of the least electrified countries in the world, where the World Bank estimates that less than one-third of the 8.5 million people have power, such “anchor demand” from mining enterprises might increase access to energy.
According to Ibrahim Sorie Kamara, secretary of the Sierra Leone Chamber of Mines, a lot of businesses are receptive to the concept. “It is costly and logistically difficult to produce your own electricity,” Kamara stated. “It will make financial sense if this power can be dependable and sustainable.”
Concerns with current energy partners are also being addressed by the administration. Electricity supplies were momentarily cut off by Turkish operator Karpowership last year because of unpaid payments, which Sierra Leone has subsequently started to settle.
Experts caution that in the absence of better energy, the mining industry in Sierra Leone may encounter difficulties like carbon taxes or a decline in the market for non-green goods. According to Joseph Nganga, vice president for Africa at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, which is assisting the government, “it’s also important for the climate.”
