Sydney Macek

Mrs. Waugh

Environmental Science Honors

11 May 2017

Energy Efficiency: Renewable Energy in Afghanistan

The whole world is embracing clean renewable energy, and plants can be found

everywhere today. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Afghan

government, the United Nations Development Program's Afghanistan Sustainable Energy for

Rural Development (ASERD), and several other International programs are working to

implement sustainable energy projects in Afghanistan.

According to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy and Water

(MEW) Afghanistan has the potential to produce around 318 GW of electricity utilizing available

renewable energy sources in the country through a variety of different methods and sources. The

diverse renewable energy portfolio includes Hydro (23,000 MW), Wind (67,000 MW), Solar

(222,000 MW), Geothermal (3,000 – 3,500 MW), and Biomass (4000 MW).

• Solar: Relies on the nuclear fusion power from the core of the Sun. This energy can be collected and

converted in a few different ways: solar water heating, direct conversion of sunlight, electrical energy using

mirrors and boilers, or photovoltaic cells.

• Wind Power. Wind energy can be used to pump water or generate electricity. It requires extensive areal

coverage to produce significant amounts of energy.

• Hydroelectric energy: This uses the gravitational potential of elevated water that was lifted from the oceans

by sunlight.

• Biomass: Term for energy from plants. Energy in this form is very commonly used throughout the world.

The most popular is the burning of trees for cooking and warmth. Due to the amount of carbon dioxide this
 releases it’s a major contributor to pollution and global warming. More modern forms of biomass energy:

methane generation and production of alcohol for automobile fuel and fueling electric power plants.

• Geothermal power. Energy left over from the original accretion of the planet and augmented by heat from

radioactive decay. In some areas the geothermal gradient is high enough to generate electricity. Another

form is Earth energy: result of the heat storage in the Earth's surface. Soil everywhere tends to stay at a

relatively constant temperature and can be used with heat pumps to heat a building in winter and cool a

building in summer.

MEW has announced plans for 100 MW of renewable electricity projects, a mix of solar, wind,

mini hydro and bio-mass power, and ASERD has allocated $50 million in January 2016 to be

used over four years to establish sustainable rural renewable electricity and heating services in

almost 200 rural communities (50,000 households) over the next four years. Project goals

include 180 mini and micro grids using hydro, solar, biomass, hybrid energy technologies and

grid extensions; 19,500 improved stoves/tandoors offered at a subsided rate; 3,800 efficient

heaters/bukharis offered at a subsided rate; 2,000 solar water heaters offered at a subsided rate;

2,000 biogas digesters; and 7 pilot initiatives that demonstrate sustainable financing sources and

delivery models.

In the past 10 years, UNDP Afghanistan has implemented nearly 100 small solar projects

throughout Afghanistan. UNDP Afghanistan has implemented 44 successful biogas plants across

the country and built 240 micro hydropower plants across the country. These projects have

helped more than 500,000 people to have access to clean energy. Rapid deployment of renewable

energy projects in Afghanistan will bring significant socio-economic benefit, employment

opportunity and access to energy, energy security, overall growth and possibilities for

International Climate Change Mitigation support.

• http://red-mew.gov.af/red/login/reports

• http://www.go100percent.org/cms/index.php?

id=80&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=435&cHash=e8141c9b83d0b2f847fc5168898d5e97

• http://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/presscenter/IntheNews/renewable-

energy-in-afghanistan-atn.html

• http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/renewables.html