Cleantech Investment by AfDB

The African Development Bank, through its public and private sector departments, is currently implementing several clean energy projects and programs to address these priorities particularly in the energy and forestry sectors. The Bank’s energy portfolio currently stands at about USD2 billion. The AfDB provides two lending windows. The first is a public window, with mostly concessional funds available to governments. The second is a private window, which offers debt and equity on commercial terms.  The World Bank Group and the African Development Bank are in the process of applying to the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) Trust Fund Committee for use … Continue reading

Desert Locusts Are Swarming With Greater Ferocity

The latest outbreak of locusts over eastern Africa has been ongoing since the beginning of this year. It is considered by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the UN as the worst outbreak of locusts in 70 years. The threat of the desert locust is extreme urgent as it’s a major threat to the food security in the region. Bearing in mind, that this region is extremely vulnerable to the predominant subsistence lifestyle. It also appears that new breeding may have occurred in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia which will intensify the infestation. The question that are foremost in minds … Continue reading

Can Atmospheric Water Generators Resolve Egypt’s Water Crisis?

Egypt faces an imminent water crisis which could jeopardize the country’s stability and regional dominance. Egypt is currently below the United Nations threshold of water poverty. The current water shortage in Egypt is 13.5 Billion Cubic Meters per year which is expected to continuously increase. According to hydrologists, a country is considered to be facing water scarcity if supplies drop below 1,000 cubic meters per person annually. Egyptian officials state there are currently around 570 cubic meters (150,000 gallons) of water available per person per year. This figure is expected to drop further to 500 cubic meters by 2025. The … Continue reading

Solar Energy in Morocco

Morocco, being the largest energy importer in North Africa, is making concerted efforts to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels. Renewable energy is an attractive proposition as Morocco has almost complete dependence on imported energy carriers. Morocco is already spending over USD 3billion a year on fuel and electricity imports and is experiencing power demand growth of 6.5 per cent a year. The National Energy and Energy Efficiency Plan was launched in 2008 which aims to develop renewable energy to meet 15 percent of the country’s energy demand and to increase the use of energy-saving methods.  According to the Moroccan Ministry … Continue reading

Why Mediterranean Countries are Safest Bet to Solve Energy Crisis in Europe

Europe has been desperately trying to find alternative sources of energy to replace Russian gas. American Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) imports used today, is only a temporary solution and not a long-term one, due to its high costs and transport limitations. However, Algeria, Israel, Egypt, and possibly other transit nations like Libya and Turkey in the future can all contribute significantly to the continent’s increased energy demands. In the Eastern Mediterranean significant amounts of natural gas have recently been discovered recently and could increase gas collaborations with Europe. Algeria increased its pipeline supplies to Europe by over 10% on available … Continue reading

African Development Bank and Renewable Energy

Africa has huge renewable energy potential with some of the world’s largest concentration of alternative energy resources in the form of solar, wind, hydro, and energy. Overall, 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in the top-33 countries worldwide with combined reserves of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy far exceeding annual consumption. Most of the sub-Saharan countries receive solar radiation in the range of 6-8 kWh/m2/day, which counts among the highest amounts of solar radiation in the world. Until now, only a small fraction of Africa’s vast renewable energy potential has been tapped.  The renewable energy resources have the potential … Continue reading

Masdar’s Partnership with GDF Suez for Morocco CSP Project

Masdar and GDF Suez are working in a consortium as one of the pre-qualified bidders for the 200MW Noor II and 100MW Noor III CSP projects in Morocco. The winning bidders are expected to be announced in September this year and in a recent interview with CSP Today, Yago Mancebo, Investment Manager at Masdar, spoke about Masdar’s first experience in the bidding process for a CSP project and their reasons for partnering with GDF Suez. Masdar has a strong portfolio of CSP projects behind them (Gemasolar and Shams 1), whilst their partner GDF Suez are one of the biggest independent … Continue reading

Renewable Energy in Morocco

Morocco, being one of largest energy importer in MENA, is making concerted efforts to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels. Renewable energy is an attractive proposition as Morocco has almost complete dependence on imported energy carriers. In 2012, Morocco spent around US$10 billion on all energy imports (crude oil and oil products, coal, natural gas and electricity). Annual electricity consumption in Morocco was 33.5 TWh in 2014, and is steadily increasing at a rate of around 7 percent each year.  The major sources of alternative energy in Morocco are solar and wind. Wind energy potential is excellent in vast parts in the northern … Continue reading

Renewable Energy Prospects in Africa

With a sixth of the world’s population, Africa generates a measly four percent of the world’s electricity, three-quarters of which is used by South Africa and northern Africa. According to World Bank statistics, more than 500 million Africans (almost two-thirds of the total population) have no access to “modern energy.” Hydropower accounts for around 45% of electricity generation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) while biomass (mostly firewood) constitutes about 56 percent of all energy use in sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale use of forest biomass is accelerating deforestation, and the World Bank estimates that 45,000 square kilometers of forest were lost between 1990 … Continue reading

Nile – The Lifeline of Egypt

The Nile always played a key role in the lives of Egyptians. It made living in the desert possible, provided drinking water; it was a source of irrigation and most importantly created fertile soil that allowed for growing crops to feed the masses. The Nile also offered an ideal means of transport for goods and people thus causing development of boats and other water traveling methods. During the course of history, using the Nile for trading with other countries proved easier and safer than land. The trip from northern to southern Egypt would have been very strenuous if it wasn’t … Continue reading

سوسة النخيل الاحمر : التهديد الحقيقي لشجر النخيل في الشرق الاوسط

التهديد الحقيقي في الوقت الحاضر لشجر المخيل هو بسبب سوسة النخيل . هذا المخلوق موطنه اساسا من جنوب اسيا , ولكنه نشر اجنحته عبر العالم . تستطيع ان تدمر هذة السوسة بساتين النخيل , او زيت النخيل او جوز الهند , خلال ال30 سنة الاخيرة استطاعت هذة السوسة و التي احيانا يطلق عليها سوسة التمر من اختراق 60 دولة وقد وصلت الى الشرق الاوسط , شمال افريقيا , وجنوب اوروبا عبر الكاريبي . طوارئ في الشرق الاوسط  بدات هذة السوسة في الظهور في السعودية و الامارات في منتصف الثمانينات , اليوم مزارع شجر النخيل في جنوب غرب السعودية اصبحت مصابه … Continue reading

إمكانات توليد الطاقة من مخلفات النخيل

يعد تمر النخيل احد المنتجات الزراعية الاساسية في المناطق الجافة و شبه الجافة في العالم خاصة في الشرق الأوسط و شمال افريقيا. يوجد اكثر من 120 مليون شجرة نخيل في العالم تنتج عدة ملايين من الاطنان من التمر كل عام، بالاضافة الي المنتجات الثانوية و التي تشمل عروق النخيل، الأوراق، السيقان، السعف و الليف. يمتلك العالم العربي اكثر من 84 مليون شجرة نخيل و اغلبها في مصر، العراق، المملكة العربية السعودية، ايران، الجزائر، المغرب، تونس و الإمارات العربية المتحدة. تعتبر مصر اكبر منتج في العالم للتمر حيث بلغ إنتاجها السنوي في عام 2012  1.47مليون طن من التمر و هو ما … Continue reading