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Electricity in Mozambique in 2021

Global Ranking: #95
81.4% #30 Low-carbon electricity
70.86 watts #163 Generation / person
122.40 gCO2eq/kWh #25 Carbon Intensity

In 2021, Mozambique's electricity consumption included a significant proportion of clean energy, with low-carbon sources contributing a total of 16.21 terawatt-hours (TWh). Almost all of this was from hydropower. Interestingly, hydropower provided about 16 TWh, a remarkable feat that shows potential for the growth of clean energy in the country. In contrast, fossil fuels contributed significantly less energy, totalling only about 3.7 TWh, with gas accounting for roughly 2.46 TWh of this figure. Despite this positive bias towards clean energy, the average per capita electricity consumption in Mozambique is significantly below the global average of 410 watts per person, potentially limiting economic development and quality of life.

Suggestions

To increase its low-carbon electricity generation, lessons from other countries that have improved their clean energy outputs could be useful for Mozambique. Countries like Brazil, with similar geographical attributes to Mozambique, generated a commendable 94 TWh from wind energy. This underlines the role wind power could play in diversifying Mozambique's largely hydropower-dependent energy mix. Additionally, Vietnam, a country with a GDP similar to Mozambique's, generated 27 TWh from solar power, a clean energy source that is abundantly available throughout Mozambique all year round and could serve as a supplement to hydropower.

History

Throughout the years, low-carbon electricity in Mozambique has shown an unstable trend, largely due to the country's reliance on hydropower. For instance, in the early 1980s, hydropower generation dipped by 9.7 TWh, but within 2 years, it had rebounded, marking a gain of 2 TWh. Further dips and rebounds were recorded in the years that followed. By the turn of the 21st century, annual changes in hydropower became smaller but more frequent, generally fluctuating between slight gains and slight losses. Despite occasional drops, as seen in 2016 and 2017 where there was a decrease of 1.6 TWh and 1.7 TWh respectively, Mozambique has steadily built up its hydropower base, achieving an increase of 1.2 TWh in 2019. This demonstrates the country's commitment to bolstering low-carbon energy sources as the backbone of their electricity generation.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

Data Sources

For the years 1980 to 1989 the data sources are EIA and IEA (imports/exports).
For the years 1990 to 1999 the data source is IEA.
For the years 2000 to 2014 the data source is Ember.
For the years 2015 to 2016 the data source is IEA.
For the years 2017 to 2021 the data source is Ember.
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