Sahara Wind's Water & Resources at WOCMES2018

'Sahara Wind’s energy, water and global food security nexus’ at the World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies in Seville, Spain

To secure access to water, the founder of the Sahara Wind project installed Morocco’s first wind turbine on the Sahara Atlantic coastline in 1995. Local field trials, reporting and regional consultations inspired wind policies over decades to secure an optimal water access powered by wind technologies. Boosting sustainable agriculture and local development while powering Africa & Europe at record-low electricity prices, the Sahara Wind project’s 5GW-HVDC transmission line paves the way to carbon-free fertilizer production. In processing 71% of the world’s phosphate reserves, a major source of industrial emissions can be alleviated. Critical in today’s energy transition, hydrogen can be produced through renewables. These prospects have been presented on July 19th at the Water and Resources Panel of #WOCMES2018.

EU vision for a modern, clean and competitive economy #EU2050

Sahara Wind at the “EU vision for a modern, clean and competitive economy” high level conference in Brussels, July 10-11 2018

In March 2018, EU leaders asked the European Commission to present, within 12 months, “a proposal for a Strategy for long-term EU greenhouse gas emissions reduction in accordance with the Paris Agreement”. In preparation for a mid-century low carbon emissions strategy, the Commission organized a stakeholder consultation event for a discussion on the EU long-term strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Hosted by Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), this by invitation-only 2-day stakeholder meeting sought inputs from citizens and stakeholders from business, research and civil society over the EU’s long-term emission reduction strategy.

Strengthening the West African Community

Morocco’s accession to ECOWAS conference in Accra, Ghana: Towards a strengthening of the West African communitySahara Wind moderates the Moroccan accession to ECOWAS conference of May 15th 2018 in Accra, Ghana.

Morocco’s accession to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a full member has been agreed in principle by the community’s Heads of State in June 2017; however, the absence of a debate has been noticed in Morocco as well as in the ECOWAS states. In order to reinforce trust between governments and people, a conference under the theme: “Morocco’s accession to ECOWAS: Towards a strengthening of the West African community” was held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. Organized by the Amadeus Institute in partnership with the General Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Morocco (CGEM) and the Ghanaian Think Tank IMANI Africa, participants shared their respective sectors interests on how Morocco’s accession process can be implemented without disrupting the West African integrationist synergy. Held under “Chatham House Rule” Moroccan, Ghanaian and West African delegations debated and explored ways to reinforce this exemplary regional community with the best “win-win” approach.

Aggregating North Africa’s energy transition

"Aggregating North Africa’s inclusive, regional energy transition: the Sahara Wind project" presented at the North Africa Renewable Energy Summit 2018.

The North Africa Renewable Energy Summit 2018 brought together regional stakeholders to assess current frameworks in the transition to a more efficient, cost-effective low-carbon economy. North African delegates presented their respective Solar and Wind potentials along with their operational capacites. Current renewable energy targets with best practices were assessed in order to implement an effective roll-out strategy. The latter will be essential to meet the region’s growing energy demand.

Sahara Wind project at Algeria's ICEMAEP'2018

Sahara Winds inclusive, proprietary project concept presented at the 4th International Conference on Energy, Materials, Applied Energetics and Pollution April 29-30, 2018 in Constantine, Algeria

The Sahara Wind project’s capacity building activities provides a business case affecting regional power, phosphate and iron-ore industries. As backbones of Morocco and Mauritania’s respective economies, tapping on the Atlantic trade winds to upgrade the region’s phosphates to fertilizer and iron-ore exports represents major environmental objectives. De-carbonizing the world’s most polluting (fertilizer and steel) industries while feeding regional electricity markets at record-low costs through Sahara Wind’s HVDC line ushers Africa in an era of sustainability. Presented at the University Mentouri of Constantine ICEMAEP'2018 on April 29th 2018, the Sahara Wind project’s inclusive regional approach is likely to leverage Algeria’s significant resources.

Berlin's Global Energiewende Dialogue #BETD2018

Sahara Wind at Berlin's Energy Transition Dialogue 2018, April 17-18

To discuss viable concepts for the ongoing transformation of the energy sector Foreign and Energy Ministers met at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue.  Held at the German foreign ministry in Berlin, the event gathered some 2,000 participants ranging from CEOs, Managing Directors, Presidents and Managers to Department Heads from more than 90 countries. #BETD2018 provided a platform for an international public to assess national governments and energy sector stakeholders efforts to meet ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.

China-Africa: Investments & Economic Cooperation

The China-Africa Summit's "Economic Cooperation and Investments" preparatory conference panel moderated by Sahara Wind

To strengthen the ongoing collective Sino-African dialogue ahead of the 6th China-Africa Summit to be held in Beijing on September 2018, an experts conference was organized at the Sofitel Rose Garden Hotel in Rabat. Over one hundred invited politicians, economic operators, diplomats, experts and academics from Africa and China gathered in closed hearings round tables format of the Forum on Africa-China Cooperation (FOCAC). In addition to 'Economic Cooperation and Investment' moderated by Sahara Wind, the conference focused on political mechanisms, human development and skills transfer mechanisms as well as peace and security.

Africa’s Climate Resilient Energy Infrastructure

Sahara Wind presentation at ACRIS2018Technology, Innovation and Solutions linked to the Sahara Wind project presented at the Africa Climate Resilient Infrastructure Summit (ACRIS III) in Marrakech on February 27-28, 2018.

Showcasing innovations likely to shape North Africa’s global industries, Sahara Wind demonstrated key sustainability trends affecting energy infrastructures when backed by efficient industrial processes. Relying on Atlantic trade wind-induced currents which deposited over 71% of World phosphate deposits, these enable key industries such as fertilizers to de-carbonize, leading to the emergence of a renewable hydrogen economy. Relying on the region’s iron-ore deposits that can also be carbon-free, direct-reduced into Steels the Sahara Wind project HVDC line provides a business case ushering a sustainability era beyond Africa’s borders.

Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus in the Maghreb

Sahara Wind Project: A Regional Catalyst for Renewables” presented at the International Workshop on the "Implementation of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the Maghreb" on 18-20 December 2017 in Rabat, Morocco.

Organized by the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC), the Université Internationale de Rabat and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, this workshop highlighted the Maghreb countries’ differentiated strategies aimed at securing a sustainable access to water and energy to try and preserve their food security-related agriculture. In today’s global climate transition, the Sahara Wind project’s energy, water and food ramifications encompassing phosphate footprints into fertilizer industries were evaluated.

EnergyTalk - Global Wind Power Innovation

O&M Open Panel Discussion EnergyTalk London 21.11.2017Sahara Wind Chairs the Sixth Annual EnergyTalk in London, November 21st 2017.

On behalf of the World Wind Energy Association Khalid Benhamou CEO of Sahara Wind, Chairs the Sixth EnergyTalk. It is a Global Wind Power, Technology Innovation annual meeting which brings together some of the most influential senior executives across the world’s Wind Energy community. The Talk looked at how companies and leaders are driving change within the industry to achieve technology innovation and development through a series of key notes, workshops, discussions and debates. The discussions covered a range of technical issues relevant to wind farm construction, commissioning, operation, real-time monitoring, grid integration, flexibility, storage & innovation.

BRICS-Africa: From Growth to Co-Emergence

Sahara Wind at MEDays, November 8-11 2017.

Sahara Wind contributed to the 10th edition of the MEDays forum on November 8-11 2017. The panels "BRICs-Africa: From Growth to Co-Emergence", " Think Tanks & Soft Power in Middle East and Africa: The New Tools of the Global Battle of influence" and " Cyber War and E-security: New Threats, New Geopolitics?" have been moderated by Khalid Benhamou, CEO of Sahara Wind. Organized in Tangier on the theme "From defiance to challenges: the era of major upheavals" MEDays gathered a community of 150 high-level speakers with 3000 participants.

Community Wind Power in Africa

Sahara Wind at the Africa Panel of the ‘Community Wind Symposium’ and the Crossroads conference held prior to COP23 in Bonn, Germany

Organized by the World Wind Energy Association WWEA on November 3 2017, the Community Wind Symposiumassessed global energy transition issues. During a panel discussion, Khalid Benhamou CEO of Sahara Wind, presented its impact on the African continent. Economic, social and political implications in ensuring a sustainable access of wind resources for an integrated development in the continent were discussed. Anticipating on the COP23 global climate deadline, these topics were further debated at the Crossroad Bonn conference.

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