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The Sun can come now
Young Arabs wish to introduce a turn in the energy policy in their home countries following a training program in Berlin
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THIS ARTICLE
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Date Published:
30 December 2009
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Published in:
Reportage
Germany
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Reporter(s):
Constantin Binder
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Original Language:
German
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 View Original
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"Yes" we like the food", says Adnan Al-Akori with his charming smile, "but not that much". Today we had chicken and chips and Sauerkraut, and when the waiter removed the plates, it was apparent that almost nobody had touched the Sauerkraut. But of course Al-Akori did not really mean that. He and his colleagues at the table have become almost regular customers in Berlin's "Pfefferberg". Since more than a week now, they come here to dine. "Their" name is written in chalk on the green board: RCREEE.
RCREEE is the acronym for "Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency", which is a combination of ten North African and Middle Eastern countries, that committed themselves to promote and expand the use of renewable energies in the region. It is a so-called think tank, if we want to put it that way, which is promoted among others- with six million Euros from the Federal Republic of Germany.
After finishing with their meal, the merry company around the table with Al-Akori, divided themselves into small, chatting groups and made their way through the midday traffic on the Schönhauser Allee. They represent a kind of future leaders of the RCREEE. The ten-day training program in which they are participating holds the title "Young Leaders in Renewable Energies" and is delivered in Berlin. They are all managers, with most of them working in ministries and public authorities. Yet the term young is quite broad: most of the 25 participants are far beyond the age of 30.
The base for all of what is to follow
On the other hand, the age of Jessica Obeid and Nader Haij Shehadeh is quite obvious, 25 and 24, they are the youngest among the participants. "We do not give away our age to the others, because they would then stop taking us serious." says Shehadah in a conspiratorial manner. Whereby in this regard, the Lebanese should not hide himself: he has built in the course of an UNO program an "energy saving center", where the German energy agency DENA has served as a model, and he also delivers seminars on renewable energies. His eyes shine with a zest for action, his English is quick and sure, he leans forward in his chair, when he wishes to highlight something special. "The RCREEE has a vision and this training is the basis for all what is to follow" says Shehadeh, "We young leaders will be playing an important role in the energy policy in future, therefore they are investing in us." Accordingly, he does not understand why all the participants are not as young as he and his colleague are. "The other are somewhat over aged", he cautiously puts it. "I think our boss was the only one who grasped what this program should all be about."
Whether over aged or not, the other participants have extensive experiences in energy issues. Adnan Al-Akori for example, the fun maker at the lunch table, is responsible in the Yemenite energy ministry for the electrification of the rural areas: he is responsible for installing photo voltaic installations to provide remote population areas with electricity. Ahmad Hamed Alubji, who works at the Syrian energy research center, has specialized in energy rehabilitation of buildings and furnishes house roofs with solar collectors.
The sun is the (energy policy) capital of the region and "the sun can come now". Not until October of last year, did a German firm consortium commit itself to the mega construction of a solar thermal power plant in North Africa (see below). For the RCREEE member countries, such billion projects are currently still too huge and naturally, the solar thermal power plants are not the only option for the MENA countries. Yet, since wind energy can at best be used on a large scale at the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea and the vegetation does not by far provide for sufficient bio mass, thus ultimately it almost all adds up to solar energy.
Knowledge from all over Europe
How to use renewable energies, is what the Arab guest get to learn about in Berlin. The "Renewables Academy" is seated in a generously laid out business building with glazed Foyer at the Prenzlauer Berg, which was established in January 2008 as a further training entity that specializes in renewable energies. Here, specialists from all over Europe provide the participants with their knowledge whether on technical, administrative or economic issues. The question is: should not the young leaders of RCREEE be knowledgeable of all this since quite some time now? "Oh no," says the Syrian Altubji, "Indeed, I work in the energy sector, but nevertheless, I have not heard about many of those things before. It is quite good to get to learn about all aspects of this issue".
This might also be one of the things that Kilian Bälz, from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation, had considered when he organized the training program delivered by the German Federal Ministry for Development. Bälz is RCREEE's interim secretary and has returned once more to the seat of the organization in Cairo. "The seminar is among the best things that we have carried out till present," is what he says over the mobile phone, while the cars of the Egyptian metropolis are honking in the background. "We thus directly address the political decision makers, since they are the ones who promote this issue", says Bälz. "Knowledge about renewable energies has to be applied in practice and I am quite confident that this will work."
The zeal, with which the participants write notes and discuss, seems to confirm what Bälz is saying: Great benefits will come out of the Berlin training program. Except for Sauerkraut, perhaps.
The ten member countries of RCREEE are engaged in the field of renewable energies
The Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency" is a combination of ten countries from the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). Its aim is to further expand the renewable energies in the region. Founding members of RCREEE are Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Yemen; the foundation contract has been signed on the 25th of June 2008 in Cairo. The member countries delegate representatives as members of a "Board of Trustees", who all make fundamental decisions.
A five-member executive committee and a secretariat complement the organization. The seat of the secretariat started its work in Cairo on the first of September 2008 with Kilian Bälz as acting head, a German jurist and Middle East expert from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The GTZ supports and advises the RCREEE as mandated by the German Federal Ministry for Development. Germany, Egypt and Denmark and the European Union promote the RCREEE during the first five years with a total of 15 Million Euro. For the purpose of extending specialized knowledge on renewable energies and energy efficiency, the RCREEE plans to offer regular training programs. The course in Berlin was the first offer of this kind.
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