Germany hopes to host HQ of renewable energy agency (News Feature)

By Mike Swanson Jun 26, 2009, 2:08 GMT

Berlin - Germany is hoping to win approval next week to host the headquarters of a new organization promoting the development and use of renewable energies.

The decision will be taken in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh when delegates from around 100 countries meet on Monday and Tuesday to decide on the new headquarters.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was established in the German city of Bonn on January 26, with the aim of helping industrial and developing nations reduce their dependency on oil, coal and gas.

Germany is lobbying for Bonn to become the new headquarters, but is facing stiff competition from the United Arab Emirates, which would like to host IRENA in Abu Dhabi.

According to media reports, Abu Dhabi is making the running so far, although German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told the German Press Agency dpa he was optimistic that Bonn would get the nod.

So far 110 countries have signed up to join IRENA and the number is expected to rise to more than 120 at the conference in Egypt, according to Gabriel, who will represent Germany there.

'IRENA is a terrific success,' Gabriel said in an interview.

Explaining Germany's reasons for wanting to Bonn to host the headquarters, he said that as the driving force behind IRENA, Germany wanted to see it firmly established.

'We believe that experience is necessary to develop and make use of renewable energy across the globe ... Germany can offer that experience,' he said, pointing to 280,000 new jobs created in Germany in the sector.

Germany stands to benefit not just from the environmental do-good factor, as IRENA could also lead to lucrative partnerships with developing countries.

This is particularly true in the technology sector, where German engineering, electrical and chemical companies are among the world's leaders in the industrial aspect of renewable energy.

'In the space of just a few years we have experienced an enormous increase in the use of renewable energy to produce electricity, heating and fuel, Gabriel said.

The Sharm el-Sheikh meeting will also decide on IRENA's budget and pick a director general from among four candidates from France, Denmark, Spain and Greece.

The minister said renewable energy was not just about creating mammoth projects, but also about regions 'where people live in mud huts.'

'Renewables offer an opportunity to solve one of the biggest challenges of century - namely, how to supply energy to the more than 1 billion people in the world who are cut off from energy supplies.'

Germany, he said, spends 1 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars) per year on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in developing countries.

Asked if he was optimistic that Bonn would get the nod over Abu Dhabi, Gabriel said he was.

'We are not lobbying against Abu Dhabi,' he said, 'but for Bonn,' a city which already hosts the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

IRENA is intended to provide a counterbalance to the International Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency, by becoming a driving force behind renewable technologies such as sun, wind, water and geothermal energy sources.

The organization aims to facilitate the transfer of renewable technologies to developing countries rich in renewable resources, such as energy from the sun's rays.

Germany, Spain and Denmark initially campaigned for the foundation of a renewable energy organisation. The preliminary framework was drawn up in Madrid in October 2008.