Brussels, 10/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - A round table discussion, organised by the industrial consortium MEDGRID under the aegis of the Euromed parliamentary assembly (PA-UfM), on energy and its contribution to the development of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation will take place at the European Parliament on Thursday 11 April. The subject of the meeting will be: “Political stakes of energy cooperation between the European Union and the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean, putting the Mediterranean electrical interconnection project into perspective”.
MEDGRID, which came into being in December 2010, is a consortium which was set up to promote the development of electricity interconnections between the North, South and East of the Mediterranean. In its own words, it brings together energy transport companies of French, German, Spanish, Italian, Moroccan, Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian origin. Its aim is to “promote and give impulse to the development of electrical interconnections between Europe and the countries of the South and East of the Mediterranean” and to “constitute a vital crossroads for the key players in these projects”.
MEDGRID seeks to promote Euro-Mediterranean cooperation which is able to respond to electricity demand which is on a steep upwards curve, not only in the countries of the South and East of the Mediterranean (by more than 6% a year), but also in the EU, which is also debating its internal interconnection plans. The EU has itself highlighted the advisability of making greater use of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in this sector, in order to “increase security of supply”, according to the consortium. An enormous source of energy exists to the south of the Mediterranean, extrending into the adjoining region of the Sahel: “in six hours, deserts receive more energy from the sun than the entire human race consumes in a year”. This quotation referenced by MEDGRID comes from the German physicist and founder of the researcher network Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation, Dr Gerard Knies. According to the European Energy Observatory, “the region must secure additional production capacities of 191 GW (106 in the South and East and 85 in the North), with current levels standking at 424 GW (103 in the South and 321 in the North)”.
MEDGRID argues that the hoped-for cooperation will make it possible to devise a more efficient and competitive electricity system, notably by developing “green energies”. The consortium, whose job is to transport electricity, will be supporting major production projects in the pipeline, in particular an ambitious Euro-Mediterranean “solar plan”, but the funding for this has not yet been secured, to say nothing of the sector's problems in Europe itself.
The aim is to “develop new industrial sectors based on green energies” working together on either side of the Mediterranean. The countries of the southern shore, almost all of which have launched major national solar plans, must select efficient, affordable technologies of proven technological maturity. It comes down to a choice between Chinese and European sectors. (FB/transl.fl)