Minister Attends Ninth Session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi

 

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Hon. Minister flanked by EEC Managing Director and  Snr Energy Officer Mzwandile Thwala.

The Honourable Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Senator Peter Bhembe is attending the Ninth Session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which started on 10th – 13th January, 2019 taking place in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. The Kingdom of Eswatini has been designated the position of Vice President of the 9th Session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

 

Recognising the continued growth in energy transformation, renewable energy is increasingly becoming the most competitive and reliable source of energy in many parts of the world for countries, regions, cities, businesses and individuals. The ongoing 9th session of the IRENA Assembly serves as a strategic global platform to discuss ways to accelerate renewable energy deployment at the national, regional and international levels. The assembly also presents an opportunity to take stock of progress made during the year of the IRENA work programme 2018-2019, and further provide guidance on how the IRENA can best support its Members in the context of the ongoing energy transformation.

During the 9th Assembly, the Honourable Minister will also participate in Ministerial Round tables focusing on “Scale-up Deployment of Renewable Energy in Africa, Catalysing Off-Grid Renewables Deployment towards Universal Access, and Solar Opportunities Developing Cities”.

IRENA has greatly assisted the Kingdom of Eswatini to develop enabling policies to support the development of the renewable energy sector. In 2014 IRENA supported the country in developing the Renewable Readiness Assessment (RRA) report and in 2017 Eswatini collaborated with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in the Long-term Energy Planning capacity building programme and the development of Eswatini’s Energy Masterplan programme. The country has now produced an Energy Masterplan document which is a long term national energy planning document. This initiative has benefitted the country by building expertise on long-term energy planning, key energy statistics and energy planning tools.

The Energy Masterplan will guide Eswatini’s a transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as a quantitative base for planning the future energy sector development. It asses the future energy demand up to 2034. It promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of energy in particular renewable energy, including bio-energy, hydropower, solar and wind energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. All these goals are in-line with the country’s recently revised National Energy Policy, National Climate Change Policy, the National Development Plan as well as the Poverty Reduction Strategy and Action Plan

 

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