wiredinUSA July 2015

INDEX

Regional cable gets going

Affordable power to the people

Harness expansion in Bulgaria

Storage for sustainability

A new report from the international renewable energy agency (IRENA) providesclear directiononhowtoadvance storage systems as part of the infrastructure for a sustainable energy future. “Renewables and electricity storage” prioritizes 14 action items across five priority areas where governments and industry can work together to facilitate the development of policies on electricity storage for renewables. To avoid the worst effects of climate change and accelerate sustainable energy transformation and economic growth, IRENA’s REmap 2030 report finds the share of renewables in the electricity sector must double to 45 percent by 2030. To do so, an estimated 150GW of battery storage and 325GW of pumped-storage hydroelectricity will be needed, making storage a vital element in the expansion of renewable energy.

Etihad Etisalat “Mobily” has announced the commercial launch of a regional high capacity cable to connect the Middle East with Europe. The first phase will stretch from Al Fujairah city in the UAE and pass through Riyadh and Amman. The agreement involves several telecom companies, including Etihad Etisalat “Mobily”, UAE Etisalat Group, Zain Jordan Turkcell Super Online, Orange Jordan, and Syria Telecommunication. The 5,000km cable will provide data capacities of up to 1.2TB per second, and from 10GB duplicates as per Ethernet protocol. The cable will be extended to Turkey as soon as the political and social situation in Syria allows it. The project guarantees to reach all sites along the track of the cable, even in case of network failure. Other developmental alternatives are available to extend the FTTH cable from Turkey to Europe through different terminals already prepared and equipped on the Greek-Bulgarian borders with Turkey.

Only around 18 percent of Kenyan households have access to electricity, with close to 87 percent of rural households and 55 percent of urban poor households using kerosene lamps for lighting. At present, the country’s grid-connected electricity capacity is 1,429MW, with the demand for electricity projected to grow to around 15,000MW by 2030. In 2012, in response to this projection, the government in partnership with the World Bank Group commissioned the construction of the Lake Turkana wind power project (LTWP) the largest wind farm in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is estimated to cost €582m and to provide 300MW of low-cost power to the national grid. The wind farm will occupy 40,000 acres of land in Loiyangalani district in north eastern Kenya, ranging from 450m above sea level at the shores of Lake Turkana to 2,300m above sea level at the top of Mount Kulal. As a result of the daily temperature fluctuations, strong and predictable winds between the lake and the desert are experienced, with expected average speeds of 11m per second.

The Bulgarian news agency Novinite is reporting that Japanese cable producer Yazaki has plans for a new production facility in Bulgaria. Sinan Kar, the general manager of Yazaki’s subsidiary in the Bulgarian market, said that the company’s third factory in Bulgaria will be located in the country’s central plant. The investment is estimated to be worth €30m. To date, Yazaki has invested around €60m in the Bulgarian car parts industry, making a range of automotive components that includes cables and wire harnesses. The company’s existing production facilities in Bulgaria are based in Yambol and Sliven, supplying Ford and Renault respectively. Sinan Kar said that the company is considering several options for the location of its new facility in Bulgaria, but the designed plant will not be located in proximity of either Sliven or Yambol.

ASIA / AFRICA NEWS

wiredInUSA - July 2015

wiredInUSA - July 2015

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