Tuesday, 10 July 2012 00:00

General Electric is looking to increase its holdings in developing countries by increasing sales of electrical turbines which are powered by burning landfill gas. Not only does this fall in line with many African initiatives to start waste-to-energy programs, but it can also help reach users that are not connected to the grid.

The off-grid power market is growing, predicted to reach $100 billion in a year. And GE’s energy division accounted 31 per cent of the company’s $142.2 billion in revenue in 2011. The company is working on its Jenbacher gas-powered line and has even hit the Nigerian market with Diageo Plc’s brewing facilities and had its first jet engine-derived turbine in Algeria.
However, the solar energy industry is growing stronger and for the first time, overtook the wind power sector. Analysis from GlobalData said that solar power accounted for 49 per cent of the $209 billion global renewable energy industry, compared to the wind sector at 34 per cent.

The renewable energy is becoming increasingly important in developing nations cross North Africa and Asia – which is attracting large sums of capital. In China’s Shandong province, the local government is attempting to implement its One Million Rooftops Sunshine Plan. UAE and Algeria, among several other MENA nations, are focusing their renewable energy efforts in solar power, India’s National Solar Mission will drive investment in the subcontinent, and the Malaysian government has set a renewable energy target of more than 3,140 MW by 2020, with solar power expected to account for one-third of the total capacity.

Meanwhile, renewable energy experts have complained that there were conference scams on the sector, which had made Alternative Energy Africa to become a bit suspicious when approached by Thembuland Royal Empire.
The invitation was to join the “delegation of Thembuland Royal Empire to the International Conference & Expo – ‘The Fifth Annual Conference – Hydropower Africa 2012.’”
Alternative Energy Africa said: “As we have tried to warn readers before, please research all offers prior to making any monetary agreements. If you are unsure, you may contact the organizers of the conference and/or contact Alternative Energy Africa.

“We reached out to Hydropower Africa’s organizer, Spintelligent, after reading through the six attached documents sent by the Empire. While the group had a website, there was very little information provided. Within the documents, Thembuland Royal Empire claimed to be a sponsor, yet no mention of the group or its affiliation showed up on the event website.

“Thembuland Royal Empire [TRE] has millions of members-in excess of 25 million – who are evenly spread through all nine South African Provinces, extending into Lesotho and Swaziland. Time and again we serve and service these constituencies to improve their socio-economic well-being,” it stressed.
The group asked to indicate how many people that would be joining under its umbrella providing a maximum budget.
The invitation said, “We will then engage with you so as to structure a reasonable deal within the constraints that we have. The organizers of the event have firmly indicated that the deadlines for new admissions are at the doorstep as such we would be grateful if all the interested parties should revert back at their earliest convenience.”
A Spintelligent representative responded to our query also stating how they had been approached by the group two weeks ago.
The organizer said, “We did the research and soon found that they were fraudulent. They are by no means associated with any.”