NEW ENERGY IN MIDEAST/NO AFRICA

AfDB: Renewable energy gaining firm foothold in MENA
Rikki Stancich, 25 March 2011 (CSP Today)

[Mr. Khaled El-Askari, Infrastructure Expert, African Development Bank [AfDB]/Egypt Office:] “…[T]he volatility of fossil fuel prices (particularly oil and gas) is one of the reasons for some countries in [Middle East and North Africa] MENA to diversify their energy sources…[T]his largely applies to fuel-importing countries such as Jordan…[For] fuel-exporting countries, the motives for energy diversification…include: the high potential for utilizing the “saved” fuel in higher-value uses, such as industry; the potential for raw and processed fuel exports; utilizing the fuels in applications that don’t easily lend themselves to renewables, such as in transport; and finally, saving the resources for future generations as a sense of national securities."

[Mr. Khaled El-Askari, Infrastructure Expert, African Development Bank/Egypt Office:] "The AfDB is putting very large emphasis on supporting renewable energy development and implementation on the African continent...[AfDB] is committed to…combating climate change, and…[supporting] regional members countries (RMCs) in diversifying their energy sources…[with] hydro, wind, and solar power…[including] Morocco’s Solar Thermal Power Station Project in Ain Beni Mathar, as part of the country’s major solar power project, which will cover 10,000 hectares and should produce up to 2,000 MW of electricity from state-of-the-art [PV and CSP] solar facilities…[and Egypt’s] Kom Ombo [100 MWe] CSP project…"

click to enlarge

[Mr. Youssef Arfaoui, Chief Renewable Energy Expert, African Development Bank:] "I’m not sure [recent political events] will have impact on the project preparation phase; the latest events didn’t disturb much the market apart from delays in the business, because it is a peaceful transition. In terms of project security it may affect the ratio, as both countries are still under transition phase."

[Mr. Khaled El-Askari, Infrastructure Expert, African Development Bank/Egypt Office:] “…I believe that market demand will provide the main thrust for developing the CSP local supply chains. However, currently the market in MENA is very small to trigger such signals, with competition outside the home market being unfavorable because of the relatively high cost of the mostly imported raw material component."

click to enlarge

[Mr. Youssef Arfaoui, Chief Renewable Energy Expert, African Development Bank:] “…a joint local manufacturing project in one country can be a good option [for a first step] in order to address the unemployment and reduce the high cost of technology, equipment, spare components, and so on. The shareholders of such a joint local manufacturing project could be the MENA countries."

[Mr. Khaled El-Askari, Infrastructure Expert, African Development Bank/Egypt Office:] “Some countries in MENA, such as Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, have already adopted policies and strategies aimed at fostering renewable energy development…While those policies give a strong positive signal to the market, [none has anything like the feed-in tariffs that have been so effective in Europe and] there are still challenges that remain to be tackled. It is difficult to suggest a certain country within MENA as taking the lead in this respect…[The AfDB] is offering its support in the areas of policy and renewable energy-related infrastructure in order to help MENA address those challenges…"