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WINDHOEK, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Namibian group that focuses on developing, designing, procuring and implementing of all sorts of renewable energy, is making headway by harvesting invader bush, which they can utilize as an alternative energy source as compared to using fossil fuel.
In Namibia, the phenomenon of invader bush is regarded to be part of the process of desertification and is a huge problem, as close to 34 million hectares are affected by the bush.
A lot of agricultural activities are affected by the thickening of aggressive undesired woody species, which also result in an imbalance of the grass, a decrease in biodiversity, a decrease in carrying capacity and causes economic losses to farmers around Namibia.
Organic Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of the O&L Group of companies is currently embarking on a project to clear the unwanted invader bush at a site situated about forty minutes' drive from capital Windhoek, so that it can be used to fuel another project, which will be a first for Namibia, the state of the art Bio-mass Boiler for Namibia Breweries Limited.
The company is set to unveil a Bio-mass Boiler on Aug. 24, in Windhoek.
"It is very expensive and difficult to clear invader bush, but on realisation that we can harness the energy to produce cleaner energy, we saw it befitting to do the project," Organic Energy Solutions Director Eike Kraff said during a recent site visit at Teufelsbach site.
Krafft said that unwanted bush represents an energy source that is not utilized in Namibia and again the invader bush is a big problem for local farmers.
According to him the bush takes close to two months to dry up by then it will be ready to go in the chipping machine, were it is converted to wood chips, which then are loaded on to a truck were they will be ready for use and in this case will be used for Namibia Breweries Bio-mass Boiler.
"We have to keep the balance, we conducted environmental studies to identify which bush to target and not recklessly clear everything," he said.
As a result of the current project, Krafft said, the beer brewer is set to reduce its carbon footprint by 20 percent in 2019, and will eventually replace 80 percent of the current 3,600 tons of Heavy Fuel Oil being used.
Krafft added that the project will not only help the environment but it will also benefit the country's agricultural sector at large. Enditem
