Masdar in UK
Green Investment Bank announced its intention to invest over the next seven years in clean energy projects in Great Britain with the company Masdar. This bank, created with funding from the British government (4,650 million dollars), aims to encourage the private sector to invest in renewable energy projects in Great Britain. The bank signed an agreement with Masdar, during the visit to London of the president of the United Arab Emirates, under which the two parts will study possible clean infrastructure projects in which to invest. Masdar invested 500 million pounds in the London Array project, the largest offshore wind farm in the world and since the end of last year the UK energy sector is open to investments from Emirati state energy companies such as Masdar. Masdar is responsible for almost 10% of the world production of concentrated solar energy (CSP) through a project located in an area equivalent to 285 football stadiums in the desert in the western part of Abu Dhabi. This emirate intends to cover 7% of its energy needs with renewable energy in 2020. Masdar owns 60% of the project Shams , which is shared with the Spanish Abengoa Solar and France’s Total.
Source: Al Arab, 01/05/2013
Jordan’s “Green projects” receive EU support
Jordan’s Ministry of Environment organized a practical workshop on the green economy and energy efficiency in cooperation with the Horizon 2020 Initiative, financed by the European Union. The Ministry’s secretary general stated that the ministry intends to include the green economy concept in the development sectors which already form part of the future direction of the government’s executive plan supported by the United Nations Program for the Environment. The European Commission’s representative in Amman praised Jordan’s efforts in this regard; in particular, the approval of regulations related to renewable energy and confirmed European support for initiatives and technical and financial tools such as the Horizon 2020 Initiative.
Source: Al Hayat, 30/04/2013
French-Moroccan relations, also strong in renewable energy
Morocco and France have always been joined by a special relationship based on a “win-win” partnership. With respect to the renewable energy sector, French companies are present in wind energy, but seek greater involvement in the Moroccan solar energy plan after the launch of the tender for the second part of the Ouarzazate solar plant. In addition, the French Development Agency is ready to increase its support to include new sectors, particularly in renewable energy and energy efficiency. In this sense, the French Development Agency granted a loan of 57 million Euros to the National Office of Electricity and Drinkable Water to finance the third program to strengthen the electricity transmission network.
Source: Al Magribiya, 01/04/2013
Saudi Arabia plans to export solar power to Europe in 10 years
Saudi Arabia aims to make big investments in the renewable energy field in order to export electricity generated from solar energy to Europe in the winter. This is because during this season Saudi Arabia can go without 50% of its power for electricity generation because air conditioning accounts for 70% of the country’s electricity consumption during the summer. According to Khaled Bin Mohamed Al-Sulaiman, vice-president of renewable energy at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, Saudi Arabia can export up to 10 GW, or the equivalent of the output of 10 nuclear power plants, across North Africa, Italy or Spain. However, Al-Sulaiman warned that it is a possibility requiring in-depth studies as «electricity generation from solar sources in Saudi Arabia is almost nonexistent at present, with only about 10 or 11 megawatts having been installed across the country”. Therefore, Saudi Arabia aims to install 24 GW of renewable energy by the year 2020 and 54 GW by 2032, which will transform it into one of the world’s producers of electricity from renewable sources. The vice president of renewable energy at King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy also said that «studies show that the investment in the electricity networks required to export electricity to Europe would be equivalent to between 15 and 20% of the total investment needed for the installation of about 20 GW of the generating capacity from renewable sources”.
Source: Al Sharq al Awsat, 13/04/2013
Egypt studies how to rationalize energy consumption in cooperation with Europe
The president of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce of Egypt, Ahmad Al-Wakil, announced that the Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations (CEEBA) together with the MED-ENEC program and the MENA-OECD investment program will organize a meeting the following Monday on renewable energy and energy efficiency in the MENA region where the MENA report of the OECD energy team, an Arabic version of the Energy Task Force, will be presented. The meeting will address the development of private sector participation in power projects in general and renewable ones, in particular. Also to be discussed will be the EU programs in the renewable energy sector in the region, such as the Budget Support on Energy, the MED-ENEC and PWMSP.
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