Tag Archives: wind

African Development Bank and Renewable Energy

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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 →

Renewable Energy in GCC: Need for a Holistic Approach

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The importance of renewable energy sources in the energy portfolio of any country is well known, especially in the context of energy security and impacts on climate change. The growing quest for renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has been seen by many as both – a compulsion to complement the rising energy demand, and as an economic strength that helps them in carrying forward the clean energy initiatives from technology development to large scale deployment of projects from Abu Dhabi to Riyadh. Current Scenario The promotion of renewable energy (RE) is becoming an … Continue reading →

Desalination Outlook for MENA

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Desalination is a water treatment process that separates salts from saline water to produce potable water. The desalination process uses large amount of energy to produce pure water from salt water source. Salt water is fed into the process, and the result is an output stream of pure water and another stream of waster with high salt concentration. Desalination techniques are mainly classified into two types: Processes based on physical change in the state of the water, and Processes using a membrane that employ the concept of filtration. There are more than 15,000 industrial-scale desalination units worldwide, with combined capacity exceeding … Continue reading →

Renewable Energy in Morocco

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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 →

How Renewable Energy Benefits Rural Areas

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Several years ago, it was coal that brought a great deal of the progress needed in the rural areas. Much have changed over the years. With the advancement of energy technologies, going back to mining and processing coal no longer makes much sense. Politicians who promise to bring back coal-related jobs simply don’t have a grasp of reality. Advanced economies are already turning to renewable sources of energy and it makes sense for developing economies to do the same, unless they’re limited by urgency that they have nothing but cheaper fossil fuels to exploit. Of course, it’s not enough to … Continue reading →

Energy Mix in the UK: Insights

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We take fuel in our home for granted, rarely contemplating how the energy that lights our rooms, charges our smartphones, and heats our dinners arrives at those switches, sockets, and hobs. But with the world facing a climate crisis, the sources of our power are moving from the coal-smoky shadows into the sunlight, and into the centre of politics. The UK’s energy infrastructure is rapidly evolving to use more renewable resources and emit fewer pollutants, a transformation that is impacting every sector of our economy and that some have compared in its scale to the Industrial Revolution that first delivered … Continue reading →

Desalination – A Better Choice for MENA

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Water scarcity is a major problem in many parts of the world affecting quality of life, the environment, industry, and the economies of developing nations. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is considered as one of the most water-scarce regions of the world. Large scale water management problems are already apparent in the region. While the MENA region’s population is growing steadily, per capita water availability is expected to fall by more than 40-50% by the year 2050. Also, climate change is likely to affect weather and precipitation patterns, and the consequences of which may force the MENA … Continue reading →

Role of Agricultural Sector in Harnessing Renewable Energy

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The continuous rise in fossil energy prices, combined with climate change concerns and progress in renewable energy sector, has catalyzed interest in clean energy systems across the MENA region, especially in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean region has abundant renewable resources, such as wind, solar, and biomass, which makes it a fertile zone for renewable energy developments. The agricultural sector has played a key role in the progress of renewable energy sector around the world as it provides large areas where renewable energy projects are built and is also the predominant feedstock source for biomass energy projects. For example, agricultural sector … Continue reading →

Solar Energy Prospects in Tunisia

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Tunisia is an energy-dependent country with modest oil and gas reserves. Around 97 percent of the total energy is produced by natural gas and oil, while renewables contribute merely 3% of the energy mix. The installed electricity capacity at the end of 2015 was 5,695 MW which is expected to sharply increase to 7,500 MW by 2021 to meet the rising power demands of the industrial and domestic sectors. Needless to say, Tunisia is building additional conventional power plants and developing its solar and wind capacities to sustain economic development. Wind Energy Outlook Wind power represents the main source of renewable energy in Tunisia. … Continue reading →