Algeria set a target to increase its installed capacity to 47,000 megawatts (MW) by 2040, Brahim Benabdeslem, the director of MDI-Algeria Business School, said Thursday.
Speaking at the 9th Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders in Barcelona, Benabdeslem spoke about the Algeria's aim to use renewables and its relations with Europe.
Despite being a major oil producer in the world, and one of the main oil exporters to Europe, Benabdeslem said Algeria plans to take advantage of its renewable energy potential through solar and wind power.
'Energy security has become important for Algeria, and we need to make new energy investments possible,' he said.
At the end of 2013, the North African country had an electricity generation capacity of 15,200 MW up from around 11,400 MW at the end of 2011, according to the U.S.' Energy Information Administration.
Anwar Zibaoui, the coordinator of the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME) stressed the importance of Algeria and North African countries for European energy security.
'Forty percent of the EU's energy imports stem from the southern part of the Mediterranean,' he said.
'Increasing interdependency between the EU and North Africa is seen in immigration and economics. But, energy has a higher importance,' he added.
- Renewable energy
Houda Allal, the director general of the Mediterranean Energy Observatory (OME), which is a non-profit organization based in France, emphasized the significance of renewable energy in Algeria and the Mediterranean countries.
'Sustainability and security for energy are vital for people in the Mediterranean. Countries like Algeria, Egypt, and Libya need to deal with their increasing internal demand of energy,' she said.
She added that all countries in the region have extraordinary potential for solar energy and highlighted that Morocco and Turkey have been strongly developing this in recent times.
Affirming that the fight against climate change will come from renewable energy resources, Allal said the governments in the region need to have the political will to implement the necessary legal framework in order to pave the way for more investment in renewable energy sector.
By Ovunc Kutlu, Bahattin Gonultas in Barcelona
Anadolu Agency
Ovunc Kutlu
ovunc.kutlu@aa.com.tr