December 16th, 2008
Auditorium GDF SUEZ
23, rue Philibert Delorme –75017 Paris
Final Proceedings
Under the High patronage of Jean-Louis Borloo,Minister of State, Minister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning, Franc Hide

The workshop following the Algiers General Assembly of the OME was dedicated to the role of regulators and their relations with governments and energy companies. Under the chairmanship of Mr Boutarfa, CEO of Sonelgaz, the speakers showed that, even if the conceptual background such as independence and the central role of the regulator in market functioning were shared by all the represented countries (Algeria, France and Italy), countries’ specificities in terms of infrastructure development and legal traditions had a deep impact on regulators’ mission and means of action.

Representing France, Mr Dyèvre, member of the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), underlined the risks of conflicts of competences between the regulator and the government; he also explained how the concept of regulation represented a breach with the French centralised legislative tradition. Hence, the CRE had to build its credibility in spite of its main interlocutors’ hostility, administrations and electricity and gas incumbents. Mr Otmane, representing Algeria, presented the challenges of the first steps in the process of implementing a new regulatory authority in a context of important investment needs. The Electricity and Gas Regulatory Commission has to define by itself its precise prerogatives and to propose investment plans guaranteeing the market equilibrium in the long term. Mr Rega, representing the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities, insisted on the rapidity of changes in Italy since liberalisation. Some representatives of the electricity industry added that, despite significant efforts to implement a stable framework of reference, the rules had not always been established in a relevant time. If the direct responsibility of the regulator is difficult to show in the 2003 black out, the participants agreed on the negative impact of liberalisation on system’s security in Italy.

The final debate underlined the need for strengthening the coordination of the different actors to guarantee a good functioning of systems. Participants also agreed on the fact that, especially in developing countries, an excessive withdrawal of governments from the energy sector could damage investment and public service financing. Hide

The natural gas industries, traditionally monopolistic and often state-owned, are more and more concerned by reforms consisting in the development of competition and private participation. The restructuring of gas industries, which has previously concerned the industrialized countries, expands to emerging and developing ones. In fact, the European Directives tend to be taken up by neighbouring countries. Thus, if the objectives of reforms are often different, the solutions implemented are generally close to those recommended by the EU.

The aim of this conference is to analyse the fundamentals of the current restructuring in the East and Central European countries as well as in the Mediterranean Countries. What are the stakes in the long run? What will be the future balance on the pan-European natural gas market? How to ensure the security of supply of the whole region? Hide

Supporting the development of renewable energy projects in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region and helping European countries to achieve their Kyoto targets will contribute to promote the sustainable development in the region.

In this context, the objectives of CDMEDI are to elaborate a CDM user's guide for the implementation of CDM projects using renewable energy projects and to organise a high level euro-Mediterranean conference on how to implement and finance such projects.
Hide

The Conference organised in Marrakech on September 20, 2002 will be the occasion to disseminate the results of the MED2010 project and to analyse the ways of promoting large scale integration of PV and wind power projects in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region in the new context related to the liberalisation of the energy sector and the consideration of environmental concerns and in particular the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.

The MED2010 (Large scale integration of solar and wind power in Mediterranean countries) project is a research project co-financed by the European Commission, Directorate General for Research and Development. The objective is to analyse the ways to integrate a large scale wind power and PV for electricity production in some Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey) in order to achieve a signi?cant contribution of electricity production with renewable energies (excluding large hydro) in these countries at horizon 2010. This is in line with the objectives set by the European Union’s Directive for the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources and with the Kyoto Protocol objective to reduce CO2 emissions.

The key issues addressed by the MED2010 project are the following:

- Analysis of solar and wind resources and selection of sites for wind power plants and for PV projects using advanced software and GIS. Grid connection issues are also analysed.

- Market development and integration of social and environmental bene?ts with an emphasis on the legislative and institutional framework for the development of wind power and PV projects. Integration plans at horizon 2010 for the largescale use of RE are also elaborated. The ways to achieve large-scale integration of wind and solar power at horizon 2010 is studied and proposals made regarding the market development. The expected social and environmental benefits are analysed.

-Assessment of the potential for «green electricity trading» in the Mediterranean region from the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries to European countries through the North-South electricity interconnection links.

-Evaluation of the investment needs for the integration plans of renewable energies, and the additional costs versus the

standard options of thermal power plants using fossil fuels. Analysis of ?nancial schemes for the development of wind power plants and PV projects in each country. Speci?c attention is given to ?nancial incentives related to environmental benefits and social bene?ts of renewable energy power plants. This is studied in the framework of the measures taken by the governments to implement the Kyoto Protocol in the Mediterranean countries.

A consortium of 13 partners from 8 countries of the European Union and the Mediterranean Partner countries carries out the project; the partners are electricity companies, agencies and research centres.

The Conference is dedicated to all actors involved and/or interested in the development of PV and wind market in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries, utilities, developers, decision-makers, ?nancial institutions … Hide