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AfriREA News El Sewedy Cables acquires an additional 60 % in MTOI El Sewedy Cables Holding Co. (SWDY) announced in a release sent to Arab Finance that it has increased its current 30% stake in [Manuel Torres Olvega Industrial] ("MTOI") by 60 % to reach 90 % of the company's issued capital. After successfully renegotiating its option to acquire the additional shares in MTOI (originally negotiated in 2008 as part of its original acquisition at Euro 200 million), El Sewedy was able to acquire the additional 60% shares through financing the settlement of MTOI’s current outstanding bank liabilities, by way of a Participative Loan paid from El Sewedy to MTOI. The total value of the Participative Loan is Euro 22 million in addition to a contingent line of Euro 9 million. With the acquisition of a majority stake in MTOI, El Sewedy Cables will be manufacturing the majority of the components of a wind farm (turbines, towers, cables, transformers, transmission lines...etc.). The ability to offer those components besides the contracting and engineering activities will help the Company to consolidate its position in the wind energy sector especially given the following important facts: Commenting on this transaction, Engineer Mohamed Hassan Abd El Salam, Group Vice president and CEO of wind division said "We believe that further consolidating our position in the MTOI will be an important factor in helping El Sewedy to become an important player in the wind sector especially that we have been successful in signing several Memorandums of Understanding in African and European countries for developing around 250MW.".
Ethiopia turns to hydro-electricity Ethiopia, which has just inaugurated its largest hydro-electric power station to date, hopes to soon complete a program that will generate not only enough power for the country’s needs but also for export. The Gilegel Gibe II dam inaugurated last Wednesday is 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa on the River Omo. The new station, which cost 281 million euros and which was financed partly by Italy, will produce 420 megawatts (MW). The plant is three kilometers downstream from a first hydro-electric dam Gilegel Gibe I. A third dam, Gilegel Gibe III, was started further downstream still, and is one-third completed, according to the authorities, who expect it to become operational in 2013. It will have a capacity of 400 MW. On the Blue Nile, to the West, another hydro-electric plant at Tana Beles is nearly finished and will come online in March, according to the Ethiopian government. It will have the capacity to produce 460 MW. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a champion of renewable energies, stressed at the inauguration ceremony for the dam that it “is possible to speed up development without polluting the environment.” He also reaffirmed that his government “wants to double the country’s energy capacity over the current level of 860 MW in the next five years.” But the focus on hydraulic resources is causing problems with Ethiopia’s neighbors, particularly now that a fourth dam is planned on the Omo River. Last June Addis Ababa and Nairobi held talks on Gilegel Gibe III. The Kenyan government has not opposed the dam but environmental and civil society groups in Kenya argue that the project will have serious environmental consequences as the Omo River feeds into Lake Turkana. Numerous experts, including the Kenyan palaeo-anthropologist and ecologist Richard Leakey, have said the project will have a “catastrophic effect” on the environment and on those living downstream from the dam as well as on the ecosystem of Lake Turkana, situated in a very arid region. Likewise taking water from the Blue Nile has also triggered recurrent disputes with Egypt to the north. Ethiopia has branched out into new means of clean energy production. The country has invested in a wind farm, which will be Africa’s biggest, currently under construction in the northern Tigray region in partnership with French company Vergnet. It should be producing 120 MW by 2012. In October Ethiopia encouraged companies to invest in the country’s geothermal resources, which could, if fully exploited, the government says, produce 5,000 MW against the 7 MW currently produced. Ethiopia has signed deals to export electricity to Sudan and Djibouti. The authorities have said they will not start exporting electricity to the neighbors until the country’s internal requirements, estimated at 1,200 MW, have been met. But those internal requirements keep on rising, notably because of the electrification programs undertaken for the country’s 80 million inhabitants, and because of the construction of new factories, such as cement and glass works, both heavy consumers of electricity
Africa / Middle-East Renewable Energy Summit 2009 Program Highlights
Website: http://www.magenta-global.com.sg/amres2009/index.php Egypt wind farm tender attracts 32 bids Source: Reuters
A total of 32 companies have presented bids for a tender to build a 250-megawatt wind farm on Egypt's east coast, the state news agency MENA said on Wednesday. Egypt extends deadline for wind farm bids Source: Reuters
Masdar City to host International Renewable Energy Agency HQ Source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has decided in its meeting this week in Sharm El Sheikh that Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City will host its headquarters and that Hélène Pelosse will be the first director-general of the organization. Ms. Pelosse currently works in the office of the French Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development, and Town and Country Planning. Germany, Austria and Denmark also bid to host IRENA, but the United Arab Emirates (UAE) offered a $136 million grant over the next six years to support the agency. The German city of Bonn will, however, get to host the agency’s technology and innovation centre, while a liaison office in Vienna, Austria will coordinate cooperation with other relevant organizations. Masdar City is being planned as the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city, which will be powered entirely by renewable energy by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. The project, which started in 2006, is estimated to cost $22 billion and take around eight years to build. Construction on the first phase is due to be completed next year. For further information: 25% Wind Energy Growth in 2009 Source: WWEA At the occasion of the 8th World Wind Energy Conference 2009 (WWEC2009) on Jeju island/South Korea the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) publishes an updated forecast for worldwide wind installations in the year 2009. Based on a survey amongst the WWEA member associations, a double digit growth for the wind energy market is expected despite the general economic crisis. Based on available figures from 11 of the top 15 countries representing over 80% of the world market, WWEA recorded 5374 MW new installed capacity in the first quarter of 2009, equaling an increase of 23% compared with last year in the same countries. WWEA keeps its previous prevision of a total installed capacity of 152 GW worldwide by the end of 2009, which will mean a new record of over 30 GW newly installed capacity within one year. This represents a market growth of 25% compared with last year. These figures confirm the status of wind energy as a stable, profitable and low-risk investment. Although some wind energy projects are postponed due to financing challenges, the overall market development can still compensate such delays showing great signs of vitality. A substantial share of the slow down in some regions are a consequence of new regulations and bureaucratic delays that undermine the development of new wind parks rather than of financing difficulties. The WWEC2009 was opened today by WWEA President Dr Anil Kane. Mr Kim Hyoung Oh, Chairman of the Korean National Assembly underlined in his welcome address that the Korean Parliament will make every effort to support the development of renewable energy in Korea. In total, more than 500 participants from 40 countries are discussing during the WWEC2009 all aspects of wind energy utilization worldwide, with a special focus on the conference theme "Wind power for islands – offshore and onshore". Egypt announces wind power public offering Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Energy decided to float its first international tender within days for a BOT wind-power farm. Minister Hassan Ahmed Younis said this would be the first such project in the state and noted all guarantees were provided, including legal and financial guarantees, to bring success. He said the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company is to buy output for 25 years and relay it to the power network. He remarked the state aims to bring renewable energy to 20 percent of overall energy production by the year 2020, adding wind power would account for 12 percent of output. South Africa introduces feed-in tariff for renewable energies The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) announced today that the Energy Regulator approved the Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff guidelines for the country. The feed-in tariff for electricity from wind energy will be 1.25 South African Rand (0.098 Euro, 0.131 USD) per kilowatt-hour over a period of 20 years. Stefan Gsänger, Secretary General of WWEA: "South Africa has taken the lead and is the first African country to introduce a feed-in tariff for wind energy. Many small and big investors will now be able to contribute to the take-off of the wind industry in the country. Such decentralized investment will enable South Africa to overcome its current energy crisis. It will also help many South African communities to invest in wind farms and generate electricity, new jobs and new income. We are especially pleased as this decision comes shortly after the first North American feed-in law has been proposed by the Government of the Canadian Province of Ontario." Solar farms in the Sahara could power all of Europe All of Europe’s energy needs could be met by covering an area in the Sahara Desert with solar panels, it was announced in Copenhagen. With a solar farm as large as Ireland, Europe could realistically consider receiving 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Since the sun in North Africa is twice as strong as it is in southern Europe, just 0.3% of the light will be sufficient to power Europe, said Arnulf Jaeger-Waldau of the European commission’s Institute for Energy. Scientists envision that 100GW could be generated by 2050, which is more than the combined electricity output from all sources in the UK. In what could be a £50 billion multiple government investment over the next ten years, these solar farms could produce electricity either through photovoltaic cells or by turning water to steam by focusing the sun’s rays with mirrors. In addition, the cost of moving electricity long distances is down at least three-quarters. The investment would also make the Sahara an exceptional prospect for private investors years from now. Solar farms in North Africa would make fossils fuels less relevant and would make Europe less likely to depend on Russia and the Middle East for energy. Trials of concentrated solar power for sources of European electricity will be planned for Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Dubai while Libya and Tunisia may also be considered as alternatives. While political hurdles such as resident complaints exist about having transmission cables near their homes, there is also the possibility of wind farms being placed along the North African coast. Winds created by the Sun heating the air are stronger during the summer, when European wind turbines, are less productive. International Workshop on Small Wind Energy for Developing Countries Sponsored by: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, in the framework of Danida program and in collaboration with the Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology (IEET) of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya The Workshop will bring together African, Western and Asian specialists in the area of low cost renewable energies for developing countries, to discuss wind energy technologies, their reliability and perspectives in developing countries. The workshop will cover the following main themes: Website: http://www.risoe.dtu.dk/Conferences/Kenya_workshop2009.aspx Contact: Professor Joseph M. Keriko, Director, World Wind Energy Report 2008 published
Source: World Wind Energy Association Date: 12 February, 2009 General situation Leading wind markets 2008 Diversification continues Full Report: http://www.wwindea.org/home/images/stories/worldwindenergyreport2008_s.pdf RCREEE Renewable Energy Roundtable in Cairo on Feb 4, 2009 On the occasion of the First Board of Trustees meeting of the Regional Centre of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), a round table dealing with topical issues in the field of renewable energies will be held on Feb 4, 2009. The round table will bring together leading experts on renewable energies from the MENA region. It is intended to serve as a forum to exchange views on recent developments in the field of renewable energies. The morning session is reserved for a discussion of recent developments relating to the Mediterranean Solar Plan and a position paper on the Use of EU Policy Initiatives to Promote RE-based Electricity Generation in MENA Countries. In the afternoon, a round table discussion will bring together perspectives on the amendment of the regulatory framework for electricity production from renewable energy sources from across the MENA region. It hereby is intended to initiate a regional dialogue on how to best promote renewable energies, drawing on experiences from the region and integrating the perspective of the private sector. Renewable energy agency set up in Germany Officials from around the world signed a document establishing the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on Monday at a conference in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. European countries including France, Germany and Spain were among the 75 signatories. Egypt, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Serbia, Syria and Turkey also signed up to the new center, said to be the first of its kind. US officials took part in the talks but did not sign the document. "With Irena, renewable energies will get higher visibility and a helping hand politically," German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. The center will advise governments on technical and financial issues linked to renewable energy and promote such technology in developing countries. The location of the headquarters for the new agency will be decided in June. The sun is still shining on Africa Interest in solar power and renewable energy sources is helping to drive continued international investment in the continent, according to STANLIB, the US$45bn Johannesburg based asset management operation of the Standard Bank of South Africa. In the latest report to investors, STANLIB draws attention to continuing support for Africa-based energy projects: India’s Editia Perla, a specialist in petrochemicals and renewable energy, is to invest up to US$500 million in a project in Egypt to produce the silicon cells needed to generate energy from the sun. Egypt is to build a 200MW Red Sea wind farm, using a US$388 million loan from a German commercial bank and the European Investment Bank. In January, Libya starts construction of a US$5 billion energy hub. ‘Smart Energy City’ is a joint-venture between a Libyan state fund and Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House, which will contribute US$3.8 billion. Tunisia is to build two wind farms in Bizerte Province to generate 40MW. The project is financed by a US$250 million loan from the Spanish government. In Nigeria, China’s Shenzhen Energy Group is planning to build a 3000MW power plant in a JV with Nigeria’s First Bank at an estimated cost of US$2.4 billion. Brazil is to finance the US$555 million construction of Ghana’s Jule River and Puralugu hydro power plants. When completed in 2013, the plants will supply 3500MW. Ghana’s government is also investing US$400 million to develop thermal power generation and China’s Exim Bank is to finance the US$600 million development of the Bui hydro project. In Zambia, China’s Sino Hydro is to spend US$400 million to expand the Kariba North Bank power station – a development to help mines on the Copperbelt achieve full potential. Exim Bank will provide 85% of the funds. Dylan Evans, Global Investment Marketing Director at Standard, notes: “One of Africa's greatest needs is power and fortunately it has the resources to produce it – not just oil, gas and coal, but water, wind and sun. “NASA has identified part of Niger as the sunniest place on earth. Solar power is therefore taken seriously. Senegal's president has ordered a study into the feasibility of the country becoming totally reliant on this form of energy. Well-informed investors from outside the continent are also interested in African ‘renewables’ and are prepared to commit substantial sums. “This is a strong pro-Africa signal at a time when risk aversion is the norm in numerous investment markets.” ESKOM NOT IN A POSITION TO INVEST IN NUCLEAR The Board of Eskom Holding Limited announced today its decision not to proceed with the proposed investment in Nuclear-1 project due to the magnitude of the investment. The proposed Nuclear 1 project would have resulted in the construction of the country’s second pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant. Koeberg Power Station is South Africa’s first and only nuclear power station. ELECTRICX 2008, 20-23 December 2008 The 18th Middle East & Africa Power & Energy Exhibition (ELECTRICX 2008) will be held in Cairo, Egypt, 20-23 December, 2008. ELECTRICX is a leading Egypt, Africa and Middle East event, held yearly at the Cairo International Convention Center in Egypt. The aim of this event is to promote the network of experts, industry leaders and distributors in the power-energy sectors. In 2007, the event hosted 8200 visitors from 34 countries with a growth expectation for 2008 as power-energy investments continue to focus on energy sustainability for Egypt, Middle East and Africa. Website: http://www.electricx-egypt.com Call for Tender for Consulting Services for 200 MW Wind Farm in Egypt The Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) is seeking consultancy assistance in preparing, negotiating, concluding and implementing EPC contracts for a 200 MW Wind Farm at Gulf of El Zayt, Red Sea. NREA plans to appoint an internationally recognized consultant (or consortium) with experience in planning, contracting and implementation management of large scale wind farm projects outside Europe with its different lots: 1. Wind turbines, foundations and control system; The consulting services to be rendered within the scope of the “Implementation of a 200 MW Wind Farm at Gulf of El-Zayt, Egypt – the “Project”. The Project will be financed by NREA, KfW, EIB and EC. The Consulting Services shall be financed out of funds provided by KfW. Eligible applicants may download the” REQUEST FOR TENDERS for Consulting Services” from: www.nrea.gov.eg or www.bfai.de Deadline for submission of the tender has been extended to November 27th, 2008. Egypt's El Sewedy launches wind energy subsidiary El Sewedy Cables SWDY.CA has launched a wind energy group to build turbines in Egypt in line with the government's plan to increase renewable energy use, and expects sales of 434.6 million euros ($584 million) by 2011. Sewedy said on Monday it had created the Sewedy Wind Energy Group after buying a 30 percent stake in Spanish wind energy equipment manufacturer M.Torres Olvega for 40 million euros. Sewedy retained the option to buy the remainder by March 2011. "We believe that as Egypt's energy needs grow, wind energy will play an increasingly important role," Chief Executive Ahmed El Sewedy said in a statement. "The group that we are currently putting together will be able to provide all the products that are required to build a wind farm: turbines, blades and towers," he said. He added that the purchase of the M.Torres Olvega stake would "allow us to move very quickly with our plans to enter into this strategic sector". But Sewedy, one of the biggest cable manufacturers in the Middle East, would still maintain its focus on utility companies that constitute its main customer group. Sewedy said it was entering the wind sector in line with Egyptian government plans to generate 20 percent of Egypt's energy needs from renewable resources by 2020. "Wind power, which is particularly well-suited to Egypt's climate and terrain, is expected to constitute a significant percentage of the target sales. Officials say Egypt's combined oil and gas reserves will last the most populous Arab country for roughly three more decades, pushing the drive for more reliance on renewable energy. Egypt has also said it wants to build several civilian nuclear power stations to help avoid an energy crunch. Sewedy said it expects sales of 37.3 million euros by end-2009 from its wind group, expanding to 434.6 million euros by 2011. EBITDA would reach 5.3 million euros by end-2009 and 54.4 million euros by 2011, it said. The firm said its initial investment in M.Torres Olvega included buying intellectual property and know-how, and Sewedy said it would have exclusive distribution rights for M.Torres Olvega-branded turbines in Africa and the Middle East. M.Torres Olvega would retain exclusivity for European markets and the two firms would compete freely in other regions. Sewedy said it had also recently established a joint venture with German wind tower manufacturer SIAG to build wind towers, and had acquired a small Egyptian electrical engineering company that specialises in power generation projects. The Egyptian engineering firm PSP would help the Sewedy energy group with the execution of turnkey wind farm projects. "Our competitive advantage in this sector is that we will be able to provide full solutions for wind farms," Sewedy said. "We will also be very well positioned to take on turnkey wind farm projects both in Egypt and the region." Sewedy shares ended the day 1.45 percent lower at 85 Egyptian pounds ($15.22), well off a year high of 150 pounds set in February. ($1 = .7437 Euro) ($1 = 5.5861 Egyptian pounds) (Editing by David Cowell) HUSUM Wind Energy trade fair ends with record attendances Husum, 13 September 2008 - Never has there been so many wind energy experts in any one place in the world as in the last five days in the north German town of Husum, where the HUSUM WindEnergy trade fair registered almost 30,000 attendees from 40 nations. Over 23,000 of the visitors came from abroad to see the leading international wind energy trade fair. The fair was opened on Tuesday by German economics minister Michael Glos and Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister-President Peter Harry Carstensen. IREC 2008, 7– 9 October, 2008 The International Renewable Energy Conference (IREC 2008) will be held in Abuja, Nigeria, 7– 9 October, 2008. The theme of IREC 2008 is “Exploiting Renewable Energy Opportunities in Africa”. It seeks largely, to build bridges between all renewable energy stakeholders in Africa, and the financial institutions which could help accelerate the large scale and equitable deployment of renewable energy in the continent. Website: http://irec-nigeria.com/2008 RENERGEX 2008, 4-6 November 2008 RENERGEX 2008 will be held from November 4 to 6, 2008 at Dubai Airport Expo - UAE. RENERGEX is the premium exhibition & conference in the Middle East that will reveal the updated technology in the renewable energy, environmental sector and hydrogen economy across the globe. The exhibition will gather the local and international companies and organizations of environment and all sorts of clean energy (i.e. wind, solar, fuel cells, and biomass, geothermal and tidal) with large number of local and international visitors in high-quality business atmosphere. The conference will gather speakers from governments sectors, international environmental organizations, universities, and leading international companies of renewable energy industry. Website: www.renergex.ae IRENA to be founded Date: 27 July, 2008 The idea for the creation of an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has been around since the 1980s. It was proposed for the first time at the United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy in 1981. Since then, the idea has been taken up by various players and further discussed and developed by major organizations such as Eurosolar. Since then the foundation of this agency has been strongly promoted. It has even been incorporated into the coalition agreement of the present German government. For the second time on June 18th, 2008, the German Parliament advocated bringing IRENA into being. The Governments will have the opportunity to make comments on or amendments to the draft statute until September, 2008. This is when the second workshop will be held in Berlin. The aim of the meeting is to develop the final version. The actual Founding Conference is scheduled for March 2009. It will then be decided where the head office of the agency will be located. For more information please see: www.irena.org Egypt Establishes US$30m Center to Push Middle East Renewables Egypt has established a US$30 million center for renewable energy for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).The Regional Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, located at Nasr City, Cairo, was opened last week (25 June) at a ceremony in Cairo. It is supported by grants of US$11 million from the European Union through the European Investment Bank and the European Commission in Egypt, US$9.5 million from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation and US$3 million from the Danish International Development Agency. The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Energy is contributing US$6.3 million. The center will carry out research on renewable energy, including the testing of solar and wind power technologies. It will provide consultancy services to governments and private companies, promote knowledge and technology transfer between companies and governments in the region and the North, and run training programs to help set up technologies around the region. The center will also have direct contact with research centers in Europe dealing with renewable energy and take part in formulating policies related to renewable energy. The initial grants from the Egyptian and European governments will support the scientific activities for the next five years, says Fathy Ameen Mohammad, vice chairman for projects, operations and maintenance at Egypt's New & Renewable Energy Authority. After this period the center should be able to finance itself through its consultancy and training services. The center will be governed by a board including representatives from member countries including Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. This board will guide the center to promote plans for renewable energy in the region as well as helping the private sector to invest in renewable energy. WWEC 2008 opened today in Kingston/Canada Date: 24 June, 2008 More than 600 high-level delegates from 40 countries have gathered for the 7th World Wind Energy Conference & Exhibition Community Power (WWEC 2008) at the St. Lawrence College in Kingston (Ontario), Canada. In more than 100 presentations, experts from all sectors of the wind industry discuss recent developments, successful policies and future prospects of wind energy utilisation in Canada, North America and worldwide. The conference has a special focus in enabling decentralised and community power investment. Dr. Anil Kane, President of the World Wind Energy Association: “Considering today’s global energy crisis and the steadily increasing energy demand from giant countries such as China or India, there is no alternative for the world community than to shift towards renewable energy and especially wind energy. Communities and other smaller and local investors are the key players in order to achieve the necessary accelerated wind energy deployment on a global basis. We need more policies that enable such investors to invest in wind power.” For further information please contact: Solar Thermal Power Plants in Africa The use of solar thermal power plants for the generation of electricity and potable water is becoming more and more important especially in North Africa, because of the continent’s above average levels of solar radiation. There are already several projects waiting to be launched. In 2008 a solar thermal power plant integrated in a gas-fired CHP power plant is to be put into operation in Ain Beni Mathar, 110 km south of the city of Oudja, Morocco. The power plant has a total installed capacity of 200 - 250 MW with a solar share of 30 MW. The Project is mainly financed by a 175.5 million USD loan from the African Development Bank to the energy provider and plant operator ONE. Furthermore the GEF is supporting the project with 57 million USD. Also in Algeria a 150 Megawatt hybrid power station operated by natural gas with a solar share of 25 MW is to be commissioned in 2009. The plant is currently under construction in Hassi R´mel, 420km south of Algiers. At the beginning of 2008 the German Aerospace Center (DLR). and the Algerian Agency for Renewable Energies – New Energy Algeria (NEAL) agreed to further enhance their cooperation in solar research. Among other things the subject of the agreement is the scientific analysis of the operational experiences in Hassi R´mel. In addition to the optimization of power plant operation DLR and NEAL intend to work on the development of further solar thermal technologies. At present a 150 MW solar hybrid parabolic trough power plant with a solar share of 30 MW is under construction for the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) in the city of Kuraymat in Egypt. This project is also being supported with 50 million USD in financial aid by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Among other things Fichtner Solar was responsible for the technological design of the solar hybrid power plant. The contract for the project was awarded to the Solarmillenium subsidiary Flagsol GmbH. Another project is planned in South Africa. There, in Uppington a solar tower with an installed capacity of 100MW is to be constructed. The South African energy provider Eskom first envisaged the project after the evaluation of the results of a GEF financed feasibility study in 1999. By 2050 around 15% of the European electricity demand could be supplied by solar power plants in North Africa and the Middle East. Africa's deserts could supply solar electricity to continent: experts NAIROBI (AFP) — Solar power from Africa's deserts could supply all 600 million citizens currently without electricity and even export power to Europe, a green energy conference in Nairobi heard Thursday. The ferocious desert sun could provide the energy equivalent of 1.5 barrels of oil per square kilometre, said Gerhard Knies, project manager for Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC), at a meeting of nine African states. "The largest source of energy is the solar radiation (and) the best place to receive solar radiation is the desert," he told reporters at the start of meeting of 20 parliamentarians in Kenya. "Deserts get 700 times more energy per year than all human kind is using," he explained. "It is as if a layer of 25 centimetres (10 inches) of oil is falling down in the deserts year after year." The legislators from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda Tanzania, Uganda and the Seychelles are at the conference to discuss energy access for the poor. "There is great need to provide the poorest people in east Africa with electricity," said Nicholas Dunlop, founder of the "e-parliament" conference. "But at the same time there is an urgent need to combat climate change." Dunlop explained that the technology needed to provide solar thermal energy was simple and clean compared to extracting and processing fossil fuels. "Now renewable energy is considered as a supplement to fossil fuels. We have to look at fossil fuels as supplements for renewable (energy)," said Knies. Stephen Karekezi of the Environment and Development Network for Africa said high oil prices were fueling the drive for alternative and cleaner energy sources. "We are quite excited by this opportunity... that the high oil prices begin to turn our policy makers to actually contribute and push for renewable (energy)." Algeria Eyes Solar Energy Exports To Europe ALGIERS, Algeria (Dow Jones)--An Algerian state-controlled power company is erecting a forest of billboard-sized mirrors in the middle of the desert in the country's first large-scale attempt to harvest solar energy from the Sahara and potentially transmit it to consumers thousands of miles away in Europe. Algeria wants to lay high voltage power lines to connect its electricity grid directly to Spain and Italy: a critical step to sending electricity across vast distances to new markets. Doing so would position the North African country - already a key natural gas supplier in Europe - to snap up an even larger share of the European energy market, which is moving to boost the role of renewable sources in its energy mix. 'There's no question we want to do it: we have the space for it, we have the (solar) radiation,' Algeria's Oil Minister Chakib Khelil said in a recent interview in the Algerian capital. So far the Algerian government is having trouble winning commitments to sell its solar-powered electricity to European utilities at a premium to cover costs because governments are reluctant to pay more to Algieria suppliers when they are paying subsidies to promote their own renewable energy industries. But the European Commission aims for a 20% increase in energy from renewable sources by 2020 as part of a climate and energy package seeking approval from the European Parliament and member states. And experts like Luis Crespo, secretary-general of Protermo Solar, a solar energy industry group in Spain, say that the European Union will have to import renewable power to reach those goals. Crespo says the continent will have to look elsewhere if it's to meet those proposed targets because installing sprawling solar and wind farms in Europe on the scale necessary would be hampered by a lack of appropriate space. 'We're talking about all of Europe getting 20% of its primary energy from renewable sources in 2020 - for that, it's certain that Europe will have to count on the importation of clean energy from Africa,' Crespo says. The technology to generate that proportion of renewable solar energy is already at work in Algeria and elsewhere. Morocco, Egypt and Algeria are all building hybrid solar-gas plants based on technologies introduced 20 years ago in the U.S. demonstrating that solar energy could be concentrated on an industrial scale via large fields of mirrors to power utilities. Progress in the field, however, came to a virtual halt as an era of cheap oil eroded the incentive to develop alternative energy sources. The hybrid plants will still depend largely on natural gas: the solar portion serves to increase efficiency by boosting output with fewer emissions during daylight hours. Solar will account for the largest share of overall output in the Algerian plant providing up to 34 megawatts or nearly a quarter of the 150-megawatt plant's production during peak sunlight hours. 'It's a beginning. The entrance of solar into such a (technologically) conservative environment - it's a first step,' says Franz Trieb from Germany's Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, who has done feasibility studies of producing solar power for export to Europe from North Africa and the Middle East, as well as for large desalination projects in the region. Algeria's $315 million project - 66% owned by Spain's Abengoa and 34% by an Algerian government-controlled consortium, NEAL - will see giant rows of mirrors stretching across an area the size of 33 football fields. The parabolic mirrors concentrate the sun's rays on fluid-filled tubes - much the way a magnifying glass can be used to burn paper - which then produces steam to power conventional turbines. Solar will only account for 5% of total yearly output at the 150 megawatt plant, which comes on line in 2010, though that is enough to qualify it as a 'renewable' source by current industry standards, the developers say. They also say the project's purpose is to lay the groundwork for a far more advanced solar power industry in the future. 'We're looking at this as a pilot project to start getting involved in solar but eventually we aim to become among the leaders. We don't want to miss the train,' says Badis Derradji, executive director of NEAL, who points out that Algeria has been an energy pioneer before when it launched the world's first liquid natural gas shipments. UN urges biofuel investment halt The UN's new top adviser on food has urged a freeze on biofuel investment, saying the blind pursuit of the policy is "irresponsible". Olivier de Schutter also wants curbs on investors whose speculation is, he says, driving food prices higher. UN officials liken the rise in food prices to a silent tsunami, threatening 100 million of the world's poorest. The use of food crops for alternative sources of energy like ethanol is one factor behind the price hike. Mr de Schutter did not go quite as far as his predecessor in the job, Jean Ziegler, the BBC's Laura Trevelyan reports from New York. Mr Ziegler had condemned biofuels as a "crime against humanity" and called for an immediate ban on their use. But the new special rapporteur on the right to food did insist the American and European goals for biofuel production were unrealistic. I am calling for a freeze on all investment in this sector. "The ambitious goals for biofuel production set by the United States and the European Union are irresponsible," he said in an interview for France's Le Monde newspaper. "I am calling for a freeze on all investment in this sector." The biofuel rush was, he argued, a "scandal that only serves the interests of a tiny lobby". 3rd German-African Energy Forum The 3rd German-African Energy Forum is organized in close cooperation with the Hanover Trade Fair and the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has taken over the patronage, and the Federal Foreign Office supports the aims of the conference and will also be represented on a high-level. Website: http://www.energyafrica.de/en/index.php
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