By KENNEDY MUPESENI? –
ORACLE Biofuels Limited is scouting for US$500 million to set up energy renewable processing plants in selected parts of the country.
The products will range from aviation fuel, bio-diesel, electricity and organic fertilisers.
Oracle executive director Emmanuel Mbita said in an interview in Lusaka that now that the Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariff Policy (REFiT) had been formulated, the company would go ahead to raise money for the projects.
“We want to raise about US$500 million to kick-start production of various renewable energy products, especially that the REFiT policy has been formulated by the Government. This will give impetus for players in the market to approach partners and funders,” Mr Mbita said.
Oracle planned to approach financial institutions and partners who had been reluctant to fund their projects due to the lack of a policy framework on renewable energy at national level.
The Government recently launched the REFiT to provide a clear framework for comprehensive renewable energy regulatory and financing measures.
The policy aimed at offering stability and an environment to attract private sector participation and foreign direct investments in the sector.
He said his company would move a step further to get purchasing guarantees from the Government after which production of various energy products would commence in selected parts of the country.
He said it would be timely for the country to diversify its export market driving away from the mainstay copper and help meet targeted micro and macro-economic objectives at national level.
“Specific priorities on the policy guidelines would be based and depend on private sector financing which must attract national and international investors, meaning the tariff should be able to cover the generation costs of a given technology in the case of electricity generation,” he said.
Other key objectives were to increase and diversify power supply and other energy sources financed by the private sector.