Energies of the future on Algeria's agenda

Five years ago, France and Algeria established a bilateral working group to explore potential areas of cooperation in the field of alternative energy. On their way to the group's 5th session in Paris, the Algerian delegation, headed by Abdelkader El Mekki, Algeria's Director General of Energy, stopped off in Cadarache to meet with Capenergie, CEA and ITER representatives.

Algeria is presently the world's fifth largest natural gas producer and ranks 13th in oil production. Fuel exports account for 98 percent of the country's income.

"Fossil fuels will soon be considered a thing of the past," says Abdelkader El Mekki. "By 2040 renewable energies, most of them solar, should cover 30 percent of our energy needs."

Sunshine provides the vast Sahara region of Algeria with energy equivalent to 1200 kWh per square metre per year, which represents the highest potential of the whole Mediterranean Basin.