Algeria is making significant progress in its transition to renewable energy, with investments expected to reach production of around 4 Gigawatts by the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025, according to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Commission (CEREFE).
During a national seminar on the promotion of renewable energies in Tizi-Ouzou, Mourad Issiakhem, director of energy efficiency at CEREFE, told APS that this ambitious objective is part of the national energy transition strategy.
This strategy aims to move from fossil fuels to new and renewable energies, with a production target of 15 Gigawatts by 2035. Currently, existing installations produce more than 600 Megawatts (MW) of renewable energy.
Mr. Issiakhem highlighted the recent launch of two major projects: “2,000 MW” and “Solar 1,000 MW”, which will contribute significantly to increasing production capacity.
In parallel, Algeria is also exploring the potential of waste recovery for biogas production. The country has 197 Technical Landfills (CET) that could be used for this purpose. A pilot project has already been launched at the Oued Semar landfill in Algiers, where 127 biogas extraction wells have been drilled to produce electricity using a 637-kilowatt biogas engine.
Faced with an annual increase of 4 to 5% in energy consumption in Algeria, CEREFE stresses the importance of energy efficiency. Simple actions such as turning off unnecessary lights, cutting off unnecessary ventilation, and stopping the standby mode of appliances could reduce consumption by 10%.
Mr. Issiakhem also stressed the importance of unplugging unused phone chargers, recalling that 95% of energy is lost when a charger remains plugged in permanently.
These initiatives are part of a global approach aimed at modernizing the energy sector while responding to current environmental and economic challenges.
