The Minister of Energy Transition and Renewable Energies, Benattou ZIANE reiterated yesterday, Friday, Algeria’s commitment to supporting global efforts aimed at confronting climate change, stressing that the energy transition constitutes a “strategic axis” for the Algerian government.
ZINANE’s statement came on the occasion of his participation, via videoconference, in the meetings of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), held on Thursdays and Fridays at the ministerial level in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), while the 12th General Assembly of the Agency will be held virtually on 15 and 16 of the current month.
The minister said in a speech at a session devoted to “the energy transition in Africa” that “the energy transition today constitutes a strategic axis for the Algerian government in order to reach 30% of renewable energies by 2030, and this falls within the framework of Algeria’s climate commitments in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, as the goal of reducing 7 percent of greenhouse gases by 2030 with our own resources was set, and this percentage can be raised to 22 percent if we obtain international financial support.”
In this context, ZIANE underlined that an action plan has been drawn up as an “urgent phase” that mainly concerns the areas that consume the most energy, such as transportation, industry and housing, in order to gradually move towards more sustainable production and consumption models and get out of dependence on hydrocarbons with the creation of permanent job opportunities and the creation of added value.
With regard to the development of renewable energies, the Minister of Energy Transition and Renewable Energies stated that Algeria has launched a “mega” project with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts destined to both local and foreign investors.
He explained that this capacity is divided into several projects for solar plants ranging in capacity from 50 to 300 megawatts across several provinces of the country.
With regard to the project to develop the green hydrogen sector in Algeria, ZIANE said that studies have been launched to determine Algeria’s potential of this future energy and the fields of its use.
The minister highlighted, “Algeria possesses all the logistical qualifications such as renewable energy, transport and storage, to obtain a kilogram of hydrogen that is very competitive, whether for national use or export.”
Meanwhile, ZIANE said that the government has identified, within the framework of its work plan, an economic recovery road map that includes updating several regulatory laws, such as the “Investment Law that will be issued soon and the Public Transactions Law, through which procedures for economic dealers will be easier.”
It’s worth noting that the high-level personalities and multilateral organizations participate in the meetings of the International Renewable Energy Agency, which are held under the theme “Energy from Commitments to Action”.
The meetings discuss several issues, including the future of investment in the energy sector, as well as two major new IAEA reports on the geopolitics of hydrogen and an analysis of the renewable energy market in Africa.
