Brussels, 03/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - Senior officials from Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) countries met on 29-30 May in Jordan, which currently holds the joint presidency of the UfM, for initial exchanges of views and detailed analyses regarding the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP). The outline of the plan is now complete, leading to the launch of the technical studies phase, which will be followed, by the end of the year, by an even more decisive stage in the procedure involving fund-raising.
The “master plan” document put forward for examination by renewable energy specialists from UfM countries, including those from the EU, was co-ordinated by the UfM secretariat, acting as a “facilitator”, it said in a press release.
The comprehensive political document put forward addresses renewable energies and energy efficiency. The stated basic objective is to produce electricity from renewable energy sources in a region that is seen as having a high potential for providing significant quantities due to the exceptionally high levels of sunshine. Although things are still at a theoretical level, the goal is to develop new renewable energy production capacity of around 20 GW on the southern and eastern sides of the Mediterranean by 2020. Eelectricity transport capacity will have to be in place in order to supply local markets and export the surplus to Europe. At the same time, the objective also seeks to reduce energy consumption by way of improved energy efficiency for the production of heat and fuels from renewable sources.
This will involve predicting energy demands which, according to experts who contributed to the “master plan”, are expected to “increase rapidly in the region, particularly in countries in the southern and eastern Mediterranean”, due to demographic growth, urbanisation and industrialisation. According to these experts, energy consumption there is expected to increase by 70% by 2030 and related CO2 emissions could double by the same date.
Electricity demand will be greatest and is expected to increase by between 5% and 8% a year on the basis of data gathered over the past ten years. This expected increase will be twice the global average. Consequently, it will be necessary to double production by 2020 and triple it by 2030. The project also seeks to provide energy to the EU particularly the northern countries, especially Germany, which is very interested in the project's prospects and which has made clear its eagerness to promote Euro-Mediterranean energy co-operation. Nonetheless, there will be a number of domestic European obstacles (see the editorial in EUROPE 10854) and poor connections between southern European countries, such as France and Spain.
Deployment of appropriate technologies has so far been limited and has had to confront political, legal and regulatory frameworks that are still incomplete, unstable and/or uncertain, as well as “the lack of targeted financial incentives and support instruments” and economies that are still weak in southern Mediterranean countries. It will also be necessary to ensure competition on the markets and avoid a pricing policy skewed by subsidies that benefit fossil fuels. A long list of other factors that could create obstacles has been drawn up as part of this “master plan” put forward for discussion, together with a timetable for which the details are not yet available. (FB/transl.fl)