New fund for RE Projects in Egypt
According to H.E. Hassan Younes, Minister of Electricity and Energy, Egypt plans to set up in the coming phase a new cabinet affiliated fund for renewable energy projects. Hassan also added that negotiations are currently being held with the African Development Bank for a USD 400 million to encourage the application of RE and improve the efficiency of energy. Furthermore he pointed out that the aim of this loan is to put Egypt on the green development path while at the same time reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
(Source: www.sis.gov.eg)
11th World Wind Energy Conference WWEC2012
"Citizen Power" Conference to be held in historic Chamber where the world's First Feed-in Law has enacted
January 2012
By Paul Gipe
Germany, a country where 51% of the renewable energy generation is owned by its own citizens, will be hosting an international conference on community power 3-5 July, 2012 in Bonn, the former capital.
The conference will be held in the historic chamber where the world's first feed-in law was enacted, the former home of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. The Stromeinspeisungsgesetz, literally the "law on feeding in electricity" (to the grid) was introduced by conservative Bavarian farmers frustrated with their utility's intransigence to connecting their small hydro plants with the grid.
The "feed-in" law was passed overwhelmingly by the conservative government of Helmut Kohl, and quickly ushered in a revolution in the way electricity was generated in Germany, spreading rapidly from Bavaria in the south all the way to the Danish border in the north.
Farmers, individuals and community groups could, for the first time, emulate their Danish neighbors by installing their own wind turbines and selling the resulting electricity at a hoped-for profit. These electricity rebels, Stromrebellen as they're called in German, began appearing all across the country, even in the former communist East Germany.
The Bonn conference is timely. Interest in community ownership of renewable energy generation is increasing not only in Europe but also in North America, following the launch of Ontario's groundbreaking feed-in tariff program of 2009. Ontario's policy specifically encourages community and aboriginal ownership of renewables. Currently 800 MW of projects, a full 20% of all projects in the Ontario program, are under contract, though not yet built.
Nevertheless, potential community ownership in Ontario and the existing 300 MW of community wind in Minnesota pale in comparison to community-owned renewables in Germany.
In 2010, 51% of the more than 50,000 MW of renewable energy capacity in Germany was owned by farmers or individual citizens. This represents a staggering $100 billion in private investment.
German farmers alone have installed 1,600 MW of biogas plants and 3,600 MW of solar photovoltaics (solar PV). For comparison, in 2010 there was only 60 MW of biogas plants and 2,200 MW of solar PV in the entire USA.
Citizen-ownership is a direct translation of the German term Bürgerbeteiligung. Though there is a long history of cooperative ownership in the English-speaking world, the concept of local ownership of energy generation is so novel today that the term "citizen" appears awkward on the tongue. Even in the land of Thomas Jefferson, the word "citizen" has fallen out of favor in preference to "individual".
It is ironic that it is non-native speakers of English who have begun to revive both the word "citizen" and its meaning. Travelers to Germany marvel at how "Jeffersonian" the Bürgerbeteiligung movement has become in democratizing electricity generation, by literally placing power generation in the hands of the people.
German farmers, community leaders and entrepreneurs are not only democratizing electricity generation and renewable heat, but are also setting their sights on an equally ambitious prize, the transmission system itself.
The conference is being organized by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and the German Wind Turbine Owners Association (BWE). Both organizations are longtime supporters of community ownership of renewable energy. Because it represents the thousands of individual owners of wind turbines in Germany, BWE has become the world's largest wind energy association.
With backing by federal, state and local government, the community power conference is expected to attract attendees from around the globe.
"If we want to reach 100% renewable energy supply," says Stefan Gsänger, WWEA's managing director. "We have to ensure that local communities benefit from renewable energy development and support projects in their vicinity. Community- and citizen-ownership models have a proven track record in achieving this objective."
Gsänger recently won the International Community Power Award from the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association for his work fostering "citizen" ownership of renewable energy.
10th World Wind Energy Conference and Renewable Energy Exhibition - Converting Deserts into Powerhouses
The World Wind Energy Association, the Egyptian Wind Energy Association and the German-Arab Chamber of Industry & Commerce welcomed the presence of more than 500 participants attending the conference this year in Cairo, from wind and all other renewable energy technologies.
The conference took place at a time which has brought fundamental political and social change in Egypt and in the whole region, also opening the doors for an urgently needed and fundamental transformation of the energy supply.
The conference was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Galal Osman, the hosting chairman of WWEC 2011, Founder Vice President of the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and Founder President of the Egypt Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and Stefan Gsaenger, Secretary General WWEA, Dr. Anil Kane, Former President of World Wind Energy Association, Prof. Dr. He Dexin, newly elected President of WWEA, H.E Mr. Dr. Mahmoud Issa, Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade as well as H.E. Dr. Hassan Younes, Minister for Electricity and Energy in Egypt.
Besides them, we had the honor to welcome H.E. Marc Franco, EU Ambassador, Head of EC Delegation and H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Al Twaijry, Deputy Secretary General for Economic Affairs, League of Arab States to the WWEC.
The conference covered all aspects of wind utilization, wind technology, wind energy markets, related policies, manufacturing, development, operation as well as economic and social issues, with a special focus on how to convert with renewable energy deserts into powerhouses.
The sessions covered vital topics such as the advantages of building wind farms in Southern and African countries, prospective possibilities to use renewable energy, also existing and successful projects such as the Zafarana and El Zayt wind farms in Egypt, the Sahara Wind project in Morocco or the German city of Dardesheim, which works just with renewable energy.
The focus while discussing new technologies lies mainly in the MENA region, but also experiences and research results from countries like China, Korea, Brasil, Taiwan, Europe or India were brought into focus.
Parallel to the conference, the WWEC Exhibition took place. The Exhibition covered an area of 600 Sqm, divided into 31 sections. Among the Exhibitors were Siemens, SIAG, ABB, SWEG, Soitec, Nordex and Suzlon and other pioneers in the field of renewable energy.
The finance session and the closing session were held in collaboration with the 2nd Dii Desert Energy Conference which was held from 2-3 November 2011 in Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel.
El Sewedy Wind Energy Group- SWEG have been awarded the Wind Energy Award 2011 for the company’s leading role in introducing wind power on a large scale in Egypt, the MENA region and in Africa and for establishing the first major wind turbine manufacturer in the region.
A field trip to Zaafarana wind farm has been organized to the participants and sponsored by SIAG. The field trip was a good opportunity for the conference participants to get an insight on the progress of the wind farm and an overview of the operations held there.
