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2014 Training Workshop on SHP Technology for English-speaking African Countries Inaugurated at HRC

   ---Entrusted by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), HRC conducts the 2014 Training Workshop on SHP Technology for English-speaking African Countries from 15 October to 25 November. Nearly twenty officials and technicians from around ten African countries, i.e. Cameron, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, came to attend this training workshop.

   The opening ceremony of the training workshop was held at the multifunctional hall of HRC. Deputy Directors of HRC, Mr. Huang Jianping and Mr. Xie Yimin were present, extending their warm welcome to all the participants who came all the way here for the significant event.

   In his speech, Deputy Director Huang reviewed the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Africa where he delivered a keynote speech at the 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa in this May. Premier Li pointed out, "the African continent is an import birthplace of the world's civilization. In the last century, this ancient and fascinating land has seen tremendous changes. African people have seized the destiny into their own hands, realized national liberation and state's independence. Entering the new century, the African economy has shown great vitality and dynamism ¡­¡­ Africa is the home to the largest number of the developing countries, and although many African countries have seen their economies take off, they still face tough challenges. China is the world's largest and most populous developing country, and its economic aggregate is among the world's top, however it still trails about one hundred countries in terms of the UN human development index¡­¡­" Premier Li also stressed the importance of the China-Africa cooperation framework. He called for intensifying cooperation in such areas as financing, poverty-alleviation, peace and security, and people-to-people exchanges. He said China will step up its assistance to Africa and is willing to share its technology and management experience without conditions.

   Here in HRC, the subject of this training workshop is small hydropower. As a renewable energy universally accepted by the international society, SHP has been greatly developed in China with remarkable achievements scored. The training workshop is designated to provide a platform for the English-speaking African countries to fully discuss and communicate in the field of small hydropower development, focusing on the exchange of updated technology and management practice. Deputy Director Huang sincerely wished the training workshop a fruitful success, making the contribution to the development of SHP and other renewable energies in the African countries.

   Mr. MALAN MANYUNDO, Principal Officer from the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Zimbabwe, delivered a speech on behalf of all the participants: "¡­¡­. Allow me, on behalf of the participants to commend your highly esteemed government's offer to sponsor and share with African governments represented here, the Chinese experiences in small hydropower development. Let me also warmly commend HRC's hospitality to the participants. Your unwavering support to African governments in all spheres of economic development is highly appreciated ¡­¡­The challenges which are common in most African countries with regards to small hydropower and other renewable energy development emanate from how policies are implemented. These challenges can be specified as follows: Lack of awareness; Lack of funding; Resistance to technological changes; Lack of expertise and skills in the field of renewable energy management; Lack of energy efficiency standards; Use of obsolete technology and equipment; Uneconomic or too low renewable energy tariffs, where they exist, otherwise there might not be any renewable energy feed-in tariffs; Government's direct interference in the regulation and operations of the sector; Corruption; There is policy implementation inconsistence, where there is a policy; Regulation of renewable (including SHP) energy sector i.e. licensing is done on unsolicited bids, a scenario that may not be compatible with the existing national grid capacity; Underestimated potential of the SHP resource; Fragmented statutes or laws that govern the renewable energy sector¡­¡­ it is expected that the lectures and field visits that will be conducted will give a hint on how to address these challenges¡­¡­On behalf of my government and on behalf of the participants I take this opportunity to kindly encourage the lecturers to take us through the complex issues surrounding the implementation and management of small hydropower programs so that we may improve on what we are already doing in our respective countries. "

   During the coming 6 weeks, informative presentations will be delivered to the participants and field visits will be paid to typical power stations and equipment manufacturers of small hydropower, wind power and solar energy. Moreover, in-depth discussions will be organized cordially among HRC professionals and all the participants, with concerns about the further international cooperation on the development of SHP and other renewable energies. (2014-10-21)

 

 

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