Energy Resources in Contrasting Countries

Energy Resources in Contrasting Countries

1. The UK and Mali

   • The UK
     • Location
       • on the Western edge of Europe
       • Mid-latitude (50-52 degrees north)
     • Population
       • Urban - 80%
         • easier to get energy supplies in urban areas/cities.
   • Mali
     • Location
       • In West Africa
         • Northern part in the Saharan desert
       • is land-locked
     • Climate
       • tropical
         • as is in the Tropics
     • Natural features
       • the southern part of Mali has the River Niger flowing through it.
     • Capital city: Bamako
     • Tombouctou (pronounced Tim-buck-two) is located in North Mali.
     • Low population
       • BUT rapidly increasing!
       • Life expectancy is 53 years.
       • 74% of adults are illiterate - can't read and write.
       • the urban population percentage is 36%
         • while the UK is 80%!
         • easier to get energy supplies in urban areas/cities.
       • Between 5-10% of the total population of Mali has electricity
         • While 93% of Mali's population use firewood and charcoal as the primary source of energy.
     • Low income country
     • Tiny amount of energy produced.
       • has a decentralised energy production
         • local energy supply for a decentralised population is wood.
     • Energy consumption
       • the biggest sector is household use - 86%
       • energy consumption for transport is 10%
       • industrial energy consumption is 3%
         • mostly agricultural, manual labour
       • agricultural use - 1%
         • they don't have much machinery such as tractors
       • DATA above according to the MEE, 2006.
     • Electricity supply
       • 70% is from hydropower
       • the rest is from thermal power plants, in urban centres
         • thermal power is where something is burnt to generate heat, to heat water to generate steam to turn turbines to generate electricity
       • ...and the use of car batteries and a few thousand PV panels in off-grid rural areas
     • Mali's energy problems
       • Few people have access to electricity
         • most people don't have access to electricity!
       • Rapid population growth makes it harder to provide for them
       • Deforestation
         • trees can't "re-grow"!
           • they can't be replaced quickly!
       • is a land-locked country
         • transport costs are high
           • so energy has to be imported
             • so the country doesn't have it's own fossil fuels, but has to import them!
               • Not very energy secure!!
         • so is expensive to import when land-locked!
       • Vulnerable to price rises
     • Mali's energy futures
       • Hydro-Electric Power
         • Advantages
           • Proven tech, high efficiency, low operating and maintanence costs
           • HEP is often located with reservoirs, so often provide (clean) water, flood control and recreation.
           • Doesn't produce waste products.
           • It is a renewable source
             • reduces use of other fuels
         • Disadvantages
           • Initial high costs
           • Dependence on precipitation and the weather
         • Assessment: Is it sustainable?
           • Yes
             • likely to have some water flow (though depends on weather)
             • it will last
             • Water won't run out
               • As long as it keeps raining, it will last.
             • Not very expensive or difficult to maintain
               • might be expensive initially in the short term, BUT ends up being free energy, so will last.
             • Mali does have water - has 2 big rivers - the River Niger and the River Cenaglor.
           • But...
             • Mali is on the edge of a desert, so could be a problem
             • Public participation and equality
               • Problem - people will get displaced
                 • and farmland will get used by the HEP.
             • Top-down decision
               • a lack of public participation
               • Rich people will benefit - just a minority, while the HEP won't benefit most of the rest of the country.
                 • So not an equal provision of energy.
       • Biomass and Biofuels
         • Issues
           • Deforestation
             • to get fuel wood, trees have to be cut down!
         • Growing fuel, e.g. a crop called "Jatropha", rather than food.
           • BUT - the crop can grow alongside other crops that are food crops, and it can be planted in not so fertile soil
         • Dutch companies promoting the fuels.
         • Sustainability
           • It's renewable
             • keeps growing/can be regrown.
             • Carbon neutral
               • it produces and takes in CO2, so not environmentally problematic
           • Futurity
             • not a problem if it keeps regrowing
           • Participation
             • Bottom-up - encourages farmers to grow fuel crops alongside food crops
           • Equality
             • the whole country benefits
               • farmers get money
               • people have an energy resource
       • Solar
         • Mali is in the tropics - the sun is directly overhead.
           • Desert in the north, so no clouds blocking the sun out.
             • So there is a BIG POTENTIAL for solar energy in Mali.
         • Technology leap-frogging
           • can get electricity to the people
             • villages don't need a national grid if they have solar panels
         • Sustainability
           • Public participation
             • bottom-up
               • community can decide whether they want solar, and can manage it themselves,
           • Equality
             • miss out a stage of tech - the national grid, so don't need to be connected to a national grid
           • Cost - downside of villages having their own solar power is that it is expensive, and so villages would need support
           • Futurity
             • it is lasting - the sun will keep shining! So is sustainable.
               • no (carbon) emissions (excluding from the production of the panels)
       • NEED ACCESS to ENERGY
         • The UNDP (United Nations Development Plan) Multifunctional platform project
           • is portable
           • no need for access to national grid for power for the machinery etc. (including an oil press, saws, dehusker, grinding mill and a battery charger)
             • powered by an engine.
       • Enter text here
   • Both at opposite ends of the Household Energy Transition