Bifacial solar panel can boost energy yield by 50%. Researchers have been trying to develop double-sided solar cells that can capture both direct and reflected sunlight for the last forty years, and now an Israeli startup believes they have come up with the winning formula. bSolar, a venture-backed project founded in 2007, showcased their bifacial […]
Project Interchange attendees Brian Wynn and Stephen Walz tour Ashkelon Desalination plant with Israel Desalination Chairman Abraham Tenne. Advances in green technology are reported here often, including advances in solar energy, electric car technology and green bio-fuel from algae for future military and space programs. Interest in Israeli green technology programs came to the forefront […]
Renewing Africa’s Energy Future is the theme of an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) side-event scheduled to take place today at the Rio +20 conference underway in Brazil. Co-hosted by the government of Mozambique, this high-level meeting aims to spark a renewable energy revolution throughout the African continent, which supports 15% of the world’s population […]
After 12 years of finalizing details and garnering institutional support for his deeply ambitious ocean-going research vessel, Jacques Rougerie has announced that construction on the SeaOrbiter is slated to begin in October. Currently the center of attention at France’s Expo 2012 exhibit in Yeosu, South Korea, the $43 million vessel will also be the world’s […]
Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the Masdar CEO, is the recipient of this year’s United Nations’ Champions of the Earth award. The award honours individuals whose actions and leadership have had a far-reaching positive impact on the environment, in advancing clean energy technologies to mitigate the threats of climate change. Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted renewable energy […]
In 2009, Lebanon pledged to produce 12% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020- is this target optimistic today? Renewables are becoming an important source of discussion in the Middle East, as it should. Vestas estimates renewables accounts for only 0.2 % of power production in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), an […]
Jordan’s nuclear industry is wildly volatile, especially when you consider it doesn’t actually exist. Arwa reported on last week’s parliamentary vote to shelve Jordan’s first nuclear reactor. Exploratory mining for uranium was also stopped. The program will surely resurrect once new feasibility analyses are complete, but against a backdrop of a pressurized economy, scarce water […]
Women in rural Morocco are often responsible for the grueling task of trekking miles to collect fuel for cooking, which requires not only energy but also time that might have been used developing or applying other skills. Lacking access to natural gas, these villagers have had no choice but to burn biomass to produce the […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hh0-lxNqoo[/youtube] Earlier this month, Japan ended its love affair with nuclear power. Does Jordan begin where Japan left off? Environmentalists applaud the shutdown of Japan’s last working reactor, but economists are not as enthused. Before the Fukushima disaster knocked out four of their 54 reactors, atomic energy provided almost 30% of the country’s electricity. All remaining reactors have been […]
We should all keep an eye on the Levant this summer as it manages a severe energy crisis, because what is currently unfolding on a regional scale is likely to eventually take place internationally as well. Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Territories are all taxed by dwindling energy supplies and rising demand, and each country’s […]
It has been three decades since Jordan’s national grid has seen substantial infrastructural changes, but the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has recently donated $1.15 million to the kingdom so that it can explore the option of implementing a “smart” upgrade. As new renewable, nuclear and oil-shale power plants are slated to come online […]
The 6th electro, automation & energy event in Algiers is happening May 5 to 8. Interested in knowing more about renewable energy opportunities in North Africa and the Arab world? Then head to Algeria this May to meet a high profile group of decision makers and companies targeting the growing Algerian energy sector. In step […]
Two solar energy companies are part of a larger conflict and dilemma in Israel: should solar panels be installed on limited open space or on rooftops? There is a small war going on in Israel and it has nothing to do with a nuclear Iran or local terror cells. This war is over the sun. Two companies […]
Virgin wilderness on Turkey’s western coast is threatened by the construction of new wind infrastructure. Above, an image of a traditional Turkish windmill. An organic farmer near İzmir in western Turkey awoke a few weeks ago to the sound of poles and transmission lines being installed on a hill near his farm. The lines will […]
Tafline’s reporting trip to Tunisia has evolved into a personal odyssey that has revealed a side of the country Wikipedia can’t convey. I’ve been in Tunisia since Tuesday afternoon and almost every day has been fraught with challenges. This is typical of travel, of course. Few things ever go smoothly, belongings are lost or broken, […]