G E N E R A L NEWS

is land moves towards renewables

A range of renewable energy based technologies for power gen- eration and heating needs are being introduced on Isla de la Juventud in Cuba. The technolo- gies are being introduced by virtue of a project initiated by the United Nations Industrial Devel- opment Organisation (UNIDO) back in February 2002. UNIDO in conjunction with the Centre for the Management of Priorized Programmes and Project (GEPROP) from the-Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment in Cuba have been carrying out economical and tech- nical pre-feasibility studies as the main output of the project to date. The results of the initial pro- ject phase will be submitted to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on April 2003 with the aim of gaining additional neces- sary financial support to move the

project forward to the implemen- tation phase. The main objective of the project is the introduction of renewable energy based tech- nologies for covering part of the power demand on Cuba's second biggest island as well as for substi- tuting fossil fuel utilized in fur- naces and steam generators cur- rently in use in several process industries on the island. Isla de la Juventud is located on the south- ern part of Cuba and its energy needs are currently wholly imported from Cuba, thus increasing energy cost oq power generation and heating needs in the process industry. Plans include: the construction of a 3.6 MW biomass power generation plant; the integration ofa biomass gasifier with a diesel engine, run- ning on dual-fuel mode for replacing about 75 % fossil fuel; and installation of a 1.5 MW

wind farm which will be connect- ed to the grid. Biomass gasifiers are also proposed to be intro- duced to substitute fossil fuels in furnaces and steam generators in the process industries. The neces- sary infrastructure for producing 42O00 ton/year of chipped wood will also be set up that will be capable of fuelling the biomass power generation plant and process industry gasifiers. About US$12 million will be needed to realise the project.

Contact: Dr. Oscar L. Jim6nez, Energy Project Manager, Innovation and Energy Division, Centre for the Management of Priorized Projects and Programmes (GEPROP), Calle 20 No. 4112 e/ 41 y 47, Alturas de Miramar, Playa, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba,CP 11300. Tel: +(537)2027096; Fax: +(537)2029372; oscar@geprop.cu; www.geprop.cu

RE groups sign strategic agreement The International Solar Energy Society and the European Renewable Energy Council will increase their co-operative ties. <'Our organizations have joined forces before, notably on an initia- tive to create and disseminate a master plan for the ef'f'cctive and responsible export of renewable energy technologies from Europe," says ISES president Anne (;rete Hestnes.

"The signing of a concrete agreement opens the way f'or new joint initiatives and projects, both within Europe and international- ly," adds EREC president Arthouros Zervos. "'Cross-border sharing of expertise are crucial to

ensure the competitiveness of the European RET industry, as well as economic and social wdFarc in Europe and wor ldwide." Bottl groups explain that renew.able ellergy represents an important priority in developmental policies in Europe, and claim the European Union currendv leads the way in the development and implementation of" environnlen- tally sound energy technologies. "()UI" pFOSCI]CC ill [~]uropc nlalKcs us

very aware of tile enorllaOUS poten- tial f].)l: thc development of renew- able energy tcchnology and sus- tainable development to be found here," adds ISES cxccutivc dircc- tor Rian van Staden."Europc will

play a worldwide leading role in climate change issues," adds EREC secretary general Christine lins. "The potential for the devel- opmcnt of renewable energy sources is huge it-" the political will is there." EREC is an umbrella organization of industry and research groups in solar PV, wind, small hydro, biomass and solar thermal. It is based in Brussels with an objective to provide infor- mation and encourage studies on renewables. ISES is a UN-accred- ited membership organization with offices in 50 countries that was formed in 1954.

Visit www.ises.org f'or more details

Green UK University group formed The Liverpool Institute for Sustainable Technologies (LIST) has been put together by a group of University researchers to develop sustainable designs for new office buildings and homes. Tile group's activities will include the design and

construction of a truly sustainable building and compilation era com- prehensive sustainable technologies database. The building called "the Grunhaus" will demonstrate how modern of'rice accommodation can work with sustainable technology It

will contain a laboratory with a real time weblmk which will monitor how tile building is responding to climate change both within the walls and externally. Heat, light, water and wastc tcchno[ogies can be measured against building load.

LIST also proposes to create an on- line database of sustainable tech- nologies and detail how the)" work, how they can be applied and who can supply them.

Contact, Tel: +44 (0)15I 231 3~83 for more details

January/February 2003 RE! ~,Jw~vrc- f'ouus.nel