Energy in Afghanistan

Energy in Afghanistan is provided by hydropower followed by fossil fuel and solar power. According to Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), approximately 35% of Afghanistan's population has access to electricity. This covers the major cities in the country. Many rural areas do not have access to 24-hour electricity but this should change after the major CASA-1000 project is completed.

Afghanistan currently generates over 600 megawatts ( MW) of electricity from its several hydroelectric plants as well as using fossil fuel and solar panels. Over 670 MW more is imported from neighboring Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Due to the large influx of expats from neighboring Pakistan and Iran, Afghanistan may require as much as 7,000 MW of electricity in the coming years. The Afghan National Development Strategy has identified alternative energy, such as wind and solar energy, as a high value power source to develop. As a result, a number of solar and wind farms have been established, with more currently under development.

Hydroelectricity

Afghanistan has the potential to produce over 23,000 MW of hydroelectricity. A number of hydroelectric plants were built between the 1950s and the mid-1970s, which included the Naghlu in the Sarobi District of Kabul Province and the Kajaki in Helmand Province.

Southern Afghanistan has been lacking adequate electricity due to problems with the Kajaki power plant in Helmand, which has been damaged and neglected for many years. A third generating turbine was recently added. This added 16.5 MW to its generating capacity and eventually provide the southern Afghan cities of Kandahar and Lashkar Gah with around 10-hour electricity per day. The Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Herat Province, which produces 42 MW of electricity, was inaugurated in 2016. A number of other water mega dams are being built in different parts of the country.

Electricity import

Afghanistan currently imports over 670 MW of electricity from neighboring Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. This costs Afghanistan $280 million annually.

Uzbekistan

Discussions on electricity supplies began back in 2006, the Construction of a high voltage transmission line from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan was completed by October 2008. It runs from Kabul through five Afghan provinces towards the country's border with Uzbekistan, and connects to the Uzbek electricity transmission system. It was expected that the project would cost $198 million SDthe transmission lines were jointly funded by India and the Asian Development Bank. As a result, by early April 2009, all the capital city of Kabul had 24-hour electricity, the increase in power has already made a difference to many ordinary Afghans. By 2011, the 220 kV line form Uzbekistan had a capacity of nearly 300 MW.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

After completion, the billion dollar CASA-1000 project will provide 300 MW of electricity to Afghanistan, with the remaining 1000 MW going towards Pakistan.

Natural gas and oil

Coal

Afghanistan is reported to have coal reserves totalling 100-400 million tons. These mines are located from Badakhshan and extend up to Herat Province. The country has more than 11 coal reserves which include the following:

Bamyan province

# Ashposhta and Sarasia coal reserves - 150 million tons
# Sarjungel and Sar Asia coal reserves

Baghlan province

# Karkar coal reserves
# Dodkash coal reserves

Samangan province

# Dara e sof-Shabashak reserves (Very High Quality) 74 million tons
# Darae e sof- Gola badri - Keshine Mabayen Village and Balkhab District coal reserves

Badakhshan province

# Kotal khaki - Barf District coal reserves

Parwan province

# Farakort Gorband Province and Gawoparan Surkhparsa District coal reserves

Herat province

# Karukh coal reserves - 15 million tons

Daikundi province

# Lagharjoe - Kacharan District coal reserves

Uruzgan province

# Kandalan Village Mudakhil District coal reserves

Paktia province

# Khost and Paktia coal reserves - 75 million ton

Solar and wind farms

Afghanistan has the potential to produce over 222,000 MW of electricity by using solar panels. The use of solar power is becoming widespread in Afghanistan. Solar parks have been established in a number of Afghan cities.Private firms to build 30-MW solar park in Afghanistan
/ref>ECOsys Implements the Hybrid Solar and Wind Power Plant in Herat Province-Afghanistan
/ref>Solar powered hatchery in Balkh to increase poultry production
/ref> Solar-powered street lights are seen in all Afghan cities and towns. Many villagers in rural parts of the country are also buying solar panels and using them.

The country also has the potential to produce over 66,000 MW of electricity by installing and using wind turbines. The first wind farm was successfully completed in Panjshir Province in 2008, which has the potential to produce 100 kW of power. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has teamed up with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop a wind map of Herat province. They have identified approximately 158,000 MW of potential wind power. Installing wind turbine farms in Herat could provide electricity to most of western Afghanistan. Smaller projects are wind pumps that already have been attached to water wells in several Herat villages, along with reservoirs for storing up to 15 cubic meters of water. The 300 KW wind farm in Herat was inaugurated in September 2017.

Biomass and biogas

Besides wind and sun, potential alternative energy sources for Afghanistan include biomass, biogas, and geothermal energy. Biogas plants are fueled by animal dung, and produce a clean, odourless and smokeless fuel. The digestion process also creates a high-quality fertilizer which can benefit the family farm.

Family-sized biogas plants require 50 kilograms of manure per day to support the average family. Four to six cows are required to produce this amount of manure, or eight to nine camels, or 50 sheep/goats. Theoretically, Afghanistan has the potential to produce about 1,400 million cubic meters of biogas annually. A quarter of this amount could meet half of Afghanistan's energy needs, according to a January 2011 report from the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Lithium and uranium

Afghanistan has large amounts of lithium and uranium reserves.Afghanistan sitting on a gold mine

Geothermal

An area of vast untapped potential lies in the heat energy locked inside the earth in the form of magma or dry, hot rocks. Geothermal energy for electricity generation has been used worldwide for nearly 100 years. The technology currently exists to provide low-cost electricity from Afghanistan's geothermal resources, which are located in the main axis areas of the Hindu Kush. These run along the Herat fault system, all the way from Herat to the Wakhan Corridor in the northern parts of Afghanistan.

With efficient use of the natural resources already abundantly available in Afghanistan, alternative energy sources could be directed into industrial use, supply the energy needs of the nation and build economic self-sufficiency.

See also

*List of power stations in Afghanistan
*Renewable energy in Afghanistan

References

External links

Afghanistan Inter-ministerial Commission for EnergyEnergy profil in afghanistan

{{Afghanistan topics