Abstract
Energy demand has been overgrowing in developing countries. Moreover, the fluctuation of fuel prices is a primary concern faced by many countries that highly rely on conventional power generation to meet the load demand. Hence, the need to use alternative resources, such as renewable energy, is crucial in order to mitigate fossil fuel dependency, while ensuring reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. Algeria—being the largest county in Africa—has experienced a rapid growth in energy demand over the past decade due to the significant increase in residential, commercial, and industry sectors. Currently, the hydrocarbon-rich nation is highly dependent on fossil fuels for electricity generation, with renewable energy only having a small contribution to the country’s energy mix. However, the country has massive potential for renewable energy generation, such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydropower. Therefore, the government aims to diversify away from fossil fuels and promote renewable energy generation through policies and renewable energy-related programs. The country’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Development Plan focuses on large scale solar, wind generation as well as geothermal and biomass technologies. This paper provides an update on the current energy position and renewable energy status in Algeria. Moreover, this paper discusses renewable energy (RE) policies and programs that aim to increase the country’s renewable energy generation and its implementation status.
Highlights
Highlights: Algeria has great potential for solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and bio-power energy generation; Algeria aims to include 27% of renewable energy generation in their energy mix by 2030; the country is progressing slowly in terms of renewable energy development, as of 2021. Algeria is focusing on increasing solar generation by 2030
The renewable energy (RE) technologies included in the feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme are concentrated solar thermal power (CSP), bio-power, solar PV, hydropower, and wind
This paper provides a critical review of the current energy situation in Algeria, alongside discussion of RE resource availability and development status
Summary
Many countries have implemented green energy economies with goals and policies to increase their RE generation and reduce fossil fuel consumption [4]. In 2011, the Algerian Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM) introduced the law No 11-11 to fund and support RE projects and lay the groundwork for future RE programs and sustainable development in the country This law is considered a new incentive to commence initiatives to minimize the excessive consumption of conventional energy sources that are related to higher CO2 emissions and fluctuations in oil and gas prices [5]. These studies have not provided an in-depth analysis of Algeria’s current RE capacity and generation, but rather, they have focused on RE future targets and policies They have heavily relied on old reports and the literature from past decades.
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