I am currently attending ICREA (International Conference on Renewable EnergiesRenewable energy is power generated from infinite sources, such as wind or solar power. Conventional energy is generated from finite sources, such as natural gas or fossil oil. in Africa – Making Renewable Energy Markets Work for Africa), which is taking place in Dakar, Senegal (16-18 April). The Conference, which is being attended by forty-nine African countries, was opened by Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal. Wade pointed out that energyThe ability to perform work, mainly kinetic, potential, thermal energy, but also in forms of gravitational, sound, elastic and electromagnetic energy. and infrastructure are the real foundations to African Development, and with continuing high oil prices, renewable energyRenewable energy is power generated from infinite sources, such as wind or solar power. Conventional energy is generated from finite sources, such as natural gas or fossil oil. technologies provided Africa with development opportunities which are both affordable and accessible.

Director-General of UNIDO, Dr. Yumkella pointed out that Africa will have a population of two billion people by 2050, and therefore energy planning needed to be an essential element of any country’s future planning and infrastructure, if crisis’s are not to occur. Dr Yumkella pointed out that wealth creation, rather than poverty alleviation should be the goal of African countries, and renewable energy provided countries with development opportunities.

The rest of the conference has been split between workshops and plenary sessions, and has included topics such as; BioenergyEnergy from sustainable sources such as forests and agriculture (like wood and energy crops), but also manure and other biodegradable wastes. Includes biogas, biofuels and solid biomass., Scaling-up, Investment Frameworks, GridA grid is a network of transmission lines, usually to distribute electric power . Connections, Standards, Carbon Finance, Technology TransferThe exchange of knowledge, hardware and associated software, money and goods among stakeholders that leads to the spreading of technology for adaptation or mitigation The term encompasses both diffusion of technologies and technological cooperation across and within countries. (IPCC), Hydro PowerHydro power is electrical energy produced through the power of moving water.
Power obtained from the (typically gravitational) movement of water., GeothermalAlso known as geothermal power. Heat that is stored inside the earth is transformed into electrical energy by geothermal power plants. This form of energy is considered to be cost-effective, reliable and friendly to the environement., Solar, WindWind occurs due to different temperature levels in the atmosphere (troposphere) which are heated up by the sun. A typical example are the trade winds at the equator where the sun is most powerful.., etc.

I gave a presentation in the plenary session entitled “Capacity Building and Research and Development for Renewable Energy Markets in Africa“. My presentation covered REEEP’s work in Africa with national governments and the twenty-nine projects we have undertaken in the continent, and in particular a joint project REEEPThe Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) is a non-profit, specialist change agent aiming to catalyse the market for renewable energy and energy efficiency, with a primary focus on emerging markets and developing countries. has undertaken with UNIDO to develop a Capacity Building Manual. The Manual looks to develop regulators and policy makers in Africa with the use of case studies, showing what has and hasn’t worked previously and why (further information can be found on the UNIDO website)

The Conference and the attached exhibition have been well attended, and conversations within the sessions and in the margins have focused on sharing experiences, and discussing ways to take the discussion forward in this climateClimate is typically defined as the average weather (or more rigorously a statistical description of the average in terms of the mean and variability) over a period of time, usually 30 years. These quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate ... of high oil prices.

Today, the third-day of the Conference is the Ministerial portion, in which a plan of action and declaration will be formulated setting out the way forward for Africa in the renewable energy market.