Congo-Brazzavile acquires a very first research center on renewable energies

2023-05-08 22:01:19
In Congo-Brazzaville, the first renewable energy research center is opening in Oyo, the president’s stronghold, which was inaugurated last month. Green energies, very important potential for the country and the Congolese. So far, electricity has been supplied by gas-fired power stations and hydro-electric dams. This vast research center therefore aims to diversify clean energy sources for the country. The first researchers are expected this week in Oyo. Laboratories and other research workshops as well as accommodation for researchers who will come from Congo, Africa and the rest of the world have been erected on a vast plot of 10,000 m2. The cost of the construction works of the Oyo Centre, which lasted 5 years, is estimated at 24 million euros, or 15.7 billion CFA francs. The missions of this establishment are varied. A few are specified here by Gabin Dimitri Ngatso, researcher and scientific research attaché at the ministry in charge of scientific research: “The idea behind it is to strengthen energy capacities in renewable energies, to ensure an extension of the rural and urban electrification,” he explains. According to Gabin Dimitri Ngatso, the so-called “clean” energy potential is invaluable in Congo: “We have great potential in renewable electrical energy. They revolve around hydroelectricity, biomass, wind and solar. The objectives of the Oyo Center will consist in carrying out studies on these potentialities with a view to exploiting them and producing energy”, adds the researcher. For the time being, this potential is only exploited at a very low level: “I will take the case of hydroelectricity. We have a production capacity of 22,000 megawatts. But, it turns out that to date less than 3% of all this potential is used,” Mr. Ngatso points out. What can renewable energies concretely bring to the Congo? Dr. Arnaud Tamba Sokila, Scientific Director of the National Institute of Engineering Science answers: “We already know that energy in general develops a country. When the energy is stable, the country prospers. Therefore, the expectations on renewable energies will be the same as those on fossil fuels. The only difference is in terms of environmental protection”. The Oyo Research Center will benefit from funding of 1.5 million euros, or nearly 1 billion CFA francs, to support research activities on renewable energies. ► To read also: Africa Economy – Congo-B: innovative solutions to power cuts
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