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.
Website: http://www.husumwindenergy.com

IREC 2008, 7– 9 October, 2008

Egypt Establishes US$30m Center to Push Middle East Renewables 

WWEC 2008 opened today in Kingston/Canada

Community power and decentralised investment are key for necessary accelerated wind energy deployment

Date: 24 June, 2008 

Source: WWEA

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:

World Wind Energy Association:

Stefan Gsänger, Secretary General,

Tel. +49 175 940 15 18, secretariat@wwindea.org

Potential for wind & solar power in Egypt is massive – Expert
Date: 31 March, 2008
Source: STEELGURU
 
Mr Gianpiero Coppola VP Middle Eastern operation of Avelar Energy has stressed the importance of expanding renewable energy in Egypt.

Mr Coppola said that the potential for wind and solar power in Egypt is massive and called on the government to encourage private investment through tax credits and other incentives. He added that "If you cover a relatively small portion of Egyptian territory with solar collectors, you will be able to supply the power needs of the whole of Europe. The problem is that the investment in order to do this would be huge."

Mr Coppola said that Avelar would focus on wind power in Egypt first because it is cheaper and more developed than other technologies. But the greatest potential is in solar energy, he said, despite restrictively high investment costs. He added that "What we are trying to do here in Egypt is try to talk to the authorities in charge to find a way to make the investment feasible, profitable."

Egypt’s interest in renewable fuels spans more than 2 decades. In 1986, the ministry of electricity & energy founded the New & Renewable Energy Authority to vitalize the sector. But the pace of growth has not always met expectations. In 2007, New & Renewable Energy Authority said that it aimed for 3% of Egypt’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2010 and 14% by 2020.

In 2007, Egypt’s wind power capacity ranked 21st in the world, producing about 310 MW up from 145 in 2005. Still, this figure is dwarfed by the 3,129 MW generated in Denmark, 15,145 MW in Spain and 22,247 MW in Germany. Egypt was ranked just one spot above Belgium.

Lots of Renewable Energy Pledges at WIREC 2008
Date: 7 March, 2008
Source: WIREC 2008
 
The Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, WIREC 2008, drew to a close yesterday. More than 100 pledges from more than 40 countries were made to promote and foster renewable energy development during the international three-day gathering, which included top-level government energy officials as well as representatives from regional and local public institutions and from industry and finance.
 
New Zealand made the remarkable pledge that 90% of its electricity would come from renewable sources by 2025. Renewable sources currently provide between 65% - 70% of New Zealand’s electricity.   Denmark pledged to increase renewable energy’s share of its electrical power supply to a minimum 30% by 2025.  Australia pledged to meet a 20% target by 2020 as part of its plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and Brazil pledged to maintain the 45% share of energy supply renewable sources currently provide, as well as take steps to diversify its renewable energy sources. 
WIREC 2008 Pledges Summary: http://www.usda.gov/documents/Pledge_Display_Web.pdf

Wind turbines generate more than 1 % of the global electricity
 
Date: 21 February 2008
Source: World Wind Energy Association

wind energy already contributes 40 % and more.  The wind industry employs today 350,000 people worldwide, after 300,000 employees in the year 2006.   Based on the accelerated development, WWEA has increased its prediction for 2010 and expects now 170.000 MW to be installed by the end of the year 2010.  However, in the majority of the top 40 wind markets the increase in the deployment of wind energy slowed down in the year 2007.
 

Egypt Embraces the Age of Renewables

Middle East (February 11, 2008)

Originally Published:20080201.

MOST DISCUSSION OF the Egyptian power sector focuses on the political battle over liberalization and the replacement of oil with gas as a feedstock for thermal power plants. Yet the country is fast becoming the biggest wind power producer in the Middle East and Africa. A series of projects have been developed at Zafarana, while an even bigger multi-phased wind power scheme has been lined up for El Zeit on the Gulf of Suez. The variability of wind speeds means the proportion of wind power in the generation mix must be limited but the government seems keen to maximize the use of this renewable source of energy.

The Egyptian energy minister, Hassan Younes, said in November that the government had accepted the Supreme Council for Energy's goal of producing 20% of all electricity by renewable means by 2020. "By developing the nation's energy supply, we are securing the future of the people of Egypt. This country can play a major role in developing solar power and other technologies that are in demand in the 21st century. This will create new jobs and educational opportunities." Despite interest in solar and biomass technology, it is wind power that will play the biggest role in this dash for renewables, contributing 12% of the overall generation mix by 2020," he noted. This is equivalent to 7,000MW of generating capacity or perhaps 10 of the Egypt Electricity Holding Company's (EEHC) typical gas fired power plants.

Although the targets are not legally binding, new power sector legislation has been drafted to ensure wind farm operators can access the national grid and some financial incentives have also been introduced. Long-term power purchase agreements will be offered to encourage investment, while funding for feasibility studies and technical support will be offered. Such support will be vital if renewables are to compete with thermal power plants. Energy security and the desire to maximize oil and gas exports are the main reason behind this enthusiasm for wind power. Turbines do not rely on any imported feedstock and every megawatt of wind power generating capacity frees up more gas for sale overseas.

Just as thermal power plants were converted from oil to gas to boost oil exports, so renewables help Egypt to further expand its successful liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. Energy minister Younes commented: "The coming period will witness a number of bids to invite competitive private sector companies to supply power from renewables." The government hopes to turn Egypt into the renewable energy development hub for the entire Middle East and North Africa region. With plentiful wind and solar resources and sufficient political will to make the most of these resources, there seems no reason to doubt this ambition.

Although significant generating capacity has only been brought on stream since the turn of the millennium, Cairo has sought to encourage wind power sector development in a systematic manner. An in-depth survey of wind speeds in the most prospective parts of the country was carried out between 1999 and 2001. Through this research, the state owned New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) discovered that annual wind speeds were highest at El Zeit, at between 10.3 and 10.8 meters a second, and at Zafarana, with speeds of up to 9.2 meters a second.

The Ministry of Electricity and Energy therefore acquired 80sq km of land at Zafarana, which lies about 200 kilometers south-east of Cairo on the Gulf of Suez, for the development of a string of wind farms. Another 64sq km has since been added to enable expansion for decades to come. Wind power is developed on an ad hoc basis in many countries, with a handful of turbines erected at each suitable location but the great advantage of a jumbo single site venture is that developers can share infrastructure. A single transmission line connects Zafarana with the national grid and turbine repair and maintenance facilities have been constructed to serve all project operators.

At present, the Egyptian wind power sector remains based on the Zafarana scheme. Each phase has been developed by foreign national development agencies in conjunction with the NREA. The first 60MW was completed by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) in 2001 and DANIDA has since invested in another 120MW trance. Kreditanstalt f"r Wiederaufbau (KfW) of Germany developed the second phase with 80MW of generating capacity and is in the process of adding another 160MW. Another 85MW has come from the Spanish government and Japan is funding 340MW of capacity. It remains to be seen if this donor-led approach will be sustained throughout the lifetime of the Zafarana venture but it seems to be managing to attract large-scale investment at present. For instance, the 120MW being developed by a joint venture of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the NREA requires investment of $125m.

Electricity from Zafarana is sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company at 12 piaster per kWh (US2.1 cents per kWh). Egyptian national wind power generating capacity has increased from just 5.4MW at the start of 2001 to 430MW by the end of 2007 and this is expected to reach 1.050MW by 2011, increasing on an annual basis thereafter. The pace of increase has been aided by improvements in turbine technology in recent years. The first Danish turbines had generating capacity of 600kW, while the latest models provided by Vestas, Nordex and other manufacturers boast 1MW. Elsewhere in the world, turbines of 2MW and 3MW are becoming more commonplace and the much larger turbines could soon decorate the Gulf of Suez.

With even higher average wind speeds than Zafarana, it was always likely that El Zeit would be the next target for investment. While Zafarana is a huge site by international standards, it is dwarfed by the 656sq km set aside by the government at El Zeit. This is an area roughly the size of Bahrain which could eventually host tens of thousands of turbines. In the shorter terms, the NREA hopes that 3000-4,000MW can be developed at El Zeit, of which 300MW is already at the planning stage. The Japanese government has completed the design for its 220MW phase, while KfW expects to finalize a feasibility study on its 80MW scheme by March.

The Egyptian press has been full of news about Cairo's plans for developing nuclear power plants but reactors will take anything from 10 to 20 years to bring on stream with Egyptian demand for electricity likely to rocket in the intervening period. Nuclear technology is therefore not the answer to the country's short or even medium term power requirements. Even in the longer term, wind power in particular, but possibly also solar power, should play a more important role in the Egyptian generation mix. Rising global demand for gas is only likely to drive up prices, while advances in new technology should make renewables more economically viable. With low carbon emissions, built in energy security and increasing adaptability, Egypt will not be the first country in the region to move wind power to the heart of its power needs.

(C) 2008 Middle East. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

        Member of the World Wind Energy Association