Agreement between Desertec Industrial Initiative and Algeria

By Solar Novus, 09/12/2011

In the presence of EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger and Algerian Minister for Energy and Mining Youcef Yousfi, the Algerian energy supplier Sonelgaz and Industrial Initiative Dii have today signed an agreement in Brussels on their future collaboration.

The intense exchange of technical expertise, issues of market development and support in the advancement of renewable energies in Algeria are the focus of this new strategic partnership. The activities on both sides of this partnership will promote industrial cooperation in Algeria, including the creation of jobs. The agreement was reached during a high-level meeting between Algeria and the EU on renewable energies and energy efficiency. 

Algeria offers an excellent framework for producing desert energy, and is one of the leading North African states in terms of average hours of sunlight per year. By 2020 alone, the need for electricity will have risen by an annual average of 7%. Algeria is working increasingly with renewable energies rather than fossil fuels in order to meet this growing demand. Algeria therefore has a national strategy to produce 22 gigawatts of electricity from renewable energies by 2030, 10 gigawatts of which is earmarked for export.

The Sonelgaz Group consists of 36 companies, with Sonelgaz Holding being sole owner of the stock portfolio. The Sonelgaz Group operates primarily in the areas of production, transportation and distribution of gas and electricity. Engineering, electricity and gas infrastructures, as well as mechanical engineering, are further activities pursued by the group. Sonelgaz Holding sees its main tasks as the promotion and development of renewable energies through its subsidiary companies, as well as research, engineering, manufacturing, maintenance and creation of industrial plants. It is also responsible for designing and implementing development and financing strategies, and oversees the activities of its subsidiary companies in the production, transmission and distribution of electricity and gas.

Together with its 56 partners across 15 countries, Dii aims to accelerate the implementation of the Desertec Vision. The Initiative is focused on creating a market for renewable energies from North Africa and the Middle East on an industrial scale by the year 2050. This also includes the development of integrated energy markets and the identification of suitable technologies for producing and transmitting energy.