Uganda targets net-zero energy industry by 2062

Uganda is targeting net-zero emissions from its booming energy industry by 2062, Argus reported on Thursday.

The report cited the country’s energy ministry permanent secretary, Irene Batebe, as unveiling the new timeline at a hydrocarbons conference in Kampala.

As part of Uganda’s energy transition, Batebe said, the government plans to raise hydroelectric capacity to around 52 GW by 2050, as well as to increase the use of solar, wind and nuclear power, all with a budget of USD 8 billion to be spent by 2030.

While hydropower accounts for the vast majority of Uganda’s power generation, the country’s energy consumption comes chiefly from biomass in the form of wood and charcoal.

“We want to phase out the use of coal, but… countries that produced oil and gas should get out first and we shall follow,” the report cited Batebe as saying.

The EACOP pipeline, which will transport Ugandan heavy crude from the Lake Albert projects to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga in Tanzania, will be insulated with “three layers” to limit emissions, Batebe noted.

Meanwhile, TotalEnergies has highlighted the relatively low CO2 generated by the Lake Albert developments, anticipated to be 13 kg of CO2 per barrel, compared to a global average of 33 kg.

Photo of the Tilenga development courtesy of CNOOC.