ANSAmed
Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco potential wind, solar energy source
(ANSAmed) – BRUSSELS, OCTOBER 17 – The lesser the infrastructure and the higher the fossil fuel prices, the more chances that an African country will switch to renewable energy, and that is more the case in sub-Saharan Africa than in the north, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Joint Research Center, the EU’s scientific and technical research lab.
While north African countries such as Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco have wind and solar energy potential, these can’t compete with the particularly low fossil fuel prices there, according to the report, titled ‘Renewable Energies in Africa.’ ”North Africa won’t switch to renewable energies based on free market reliance alone,” said report author Fabio Monforti-Ferrario. ”It’s cheaper for a north African rural community to use a diesel generator than it is for one in sub-Saharan Africam where traditional infrastructure is lacking and fuel prices are higher.”.
EU incentives could induce north African countries to switch to renewable energy, becoming a green energy source for Europe.
”In that case long-distance, large-scale energy transportation becomes an important issue. The key will be to create integrated energy transmission networks between the northern and southern Mediterranean,” Monforti-Ferrario said.
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