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Egyptians seek DOE training support for PV solar village

The Egyptian government has entered into an agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE) which could eventually lead to the creation of a grid-connected solar village in Egypt.

On February 23, US Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson signed an implementing arrangement with Egyptian Energy Minister Ali el-Saiedi of the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MEE) for Egyptian engineers to receive training in the US in photovoltaics.

The deal was initiated in July 1999 when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak visited Washington and signed an agreement for cooperation on energy matters. Under the implementing arrangement, approximately five engineers will be trained in the US, most likely at the National Research Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. According to Moustafa Soliman, senior program officer in the DOE’s Office of International Science and Technology Cooperation, the details of the plan will be worked out over the next few weeks with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).

»The Egyptians want to be at the cutting edge of photovoltaic technology,« says Soliman. According to Soliman, the engineers are interested in learning more about not only stand-alone applications but also in advanced photovoltaic technologies, including design of PV systems for grid connection. While still in the exploratory stages, the Egyptians are considering constructing a grid-connected solar village either in the Red Sea region or as part of the Toshka project in southern Egypt. Seven million people are expected to settle there after 500,000 acres have been irrigated by a canal planned for completion at the end of 2001.

Soliman cannot say when the Egyptian engineers will be coming, but he expects the visit to last about three months. In addition to NREL and Sandia, the engineers will be visiting some PV companies as well, says Soliman. Neither the DOE or NREA have contacted any potential companies yet. The day before on his Mideast tour, Richardson signed a joint statement in the presence of Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat which obliges the DOE to exchange information on renewable energy technologies with the Palestinian Energy Authority. »I hope to expand our relationship in the future into more concrete projects,« Richardson commented.