Energy Assignment Part 3

Solar energy

Solar energy could be reasonably implemented in Madagascar. This approach will enable the delivery of electricity to people at a cost of less than $7 per connected person. The climate of the country has much sunlight and heat which would support the use of solar panels. The government has begun to look into options concerning solar power. Saft developed its Sunica plus Ni-Cd battery specifically for storing photovoltaic, wind and hybrid energy in
isolated locations, with many remote
installations for utilities, signaling and
telecoms applications.

Wind energy

The cost of the initiative is placed around US $80 million. There are some issues dealing with location. Installing the large turbines usually found in a wind farm requires a lengthy preliminary study, which has not been done. Also, it is difficult to control for the wind speed, and usually turbine rotors are built for the airflow characteristics of a location which could be difficult in this situation. Madagascar is currently developing plans to use wind energy. Several projects have been underway in the northern part of the country. They believe that the projects will contribute to poverty alleviation as good job opportunities will be offered for qualified candidates in the fields of development, surveillance and maintenance as well as tradesmen.    

Coal energy

Coal currently takes up about 1% of the energy used in Madagascar. There are many deposits throughout the country that can be used for energy. The mining operations could create many jobs and could increase their renewable resources. There have been plans drawn up by the government for usage of this valuable energy source.

My rankings for likelihood of implementation are:
1. Wind energy
2. Solar energy
3. Coal energy

They have committed to wind energy. Solar energy is possible and while it could be expensive at first, this country could look towards the long term benefits. And then there's coal. With enough damage done to the environment already, I doubt there would be a heavy investment in coal energy.