On a barren lake-bed in central Djibouti, engineers are preparing to drill deep into the earth in search of subterranean heat that could cut the country's power bill by as much as two thirds.
For a total cost of about US$170 million (Dh624.4m), the African country will finally harness a source of energy to produce electricity that it has eyed for decades. It will also swap a decrepit power generation system that burns oil and diesel and charges one of the highest rates for power in the world. International donors have lined up behind the project and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development is considering a loan of "a few million" dollars to top up the project's financing, says Helene Pelosse, the interim director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which is based in the emirates' capital.
Renewable energy is sometimes considered a rich country's extravagance, a step that governments take to reduce their impact on the global community after they have first taken care of the needs of their own people. Even with significant technological advances in recent years, most wind farms, geothermal plants and solar arrays still produce electricity at a higher cost than the cheapest fossil fuels.
A growing number of poor, developing states, however, are choosing to invest in renewable energy projects as their primary source of electricity, either because they have an extraordinary natural resource or because they have no other choice. About 22 per cent of the world's population, or 1.5 billion people, now live without access to electricity, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) based in Paris.
"[Last year], some of the most vibrant wind-power markets were in Latin America and Africa, which saw significant growth rates," the Renewable Energy Policy Action Network for the 21st Century (REN21) reported last month. "Developing countries now make up more than half of all countries with policy targets (45 out of 85 countries) and also make up half of all countries with some type of renewable energy promotion policy (42 out of 83 countries)," it said.
With the right levels of funding, many developing countries that are just starting to build up energy infrastructure could leap-frog the use of fossil fuels to produce electricity, says Ms Pelosse. "I think we should look at the potential much better than we have been doing now," she says. "If that project in Djibouti goes through, for example, it's a revolution. Instead of getting a kilowatt-hour for $0.30, they're going to get it for $0.10, and they're going to move to 100 per cent renewable energy at some point."
IRENA has made a mission of encouraging renewable energy in developing countries, with a special focus on states looking to wean themselves off the most expensive means of producing electricity: diesel or fuel oil. Earlier this year IRENA helped the Pacific island kingdom of Tonga complete a 10-year energy plan that will see it build up wind capacity and turn waste gas from landfills into an energy source.
IRENA can draw on funds donated by the Abu Dhabi Government to help meet those goals, she says, if a project is recommended by IRENA's member states. As part of its bid to host IRENA's headquarters last year, the Government pledged to make up to $50m of "soft loans" available to support renewable energy projects in developing countries. But the need for financing from all sources has outstripped the supply of loans and held up progress, she says. Kenya, for example, could become the first country in the world to depend 100 per cent on renewable energy but had been unable to line up lenders, she says.
Kenya has already built up geothermal plants and hyrdoelectric dams. For years, it has been looking to secure loans to build a $600m wind farm in the country's north west with capacity of 300 megawatts, and has gone from lender to lender. It secured some $150m from the Asian Development Bank and contributions from French and Danish lenders, but is still looking for more loans. Kenyan officials have been remarkably persistent, Ms Pelosse says, but their difficulty has illustrated the patchwork nature of renewable energy financing in developing countries, which carry too much risk for traditional commercial lenders.
"Kenya is a great example because they have the potential, they're a country that wants to go for it and they've got the dedication of the government," she says. "They're just searching for credit." IRENA needs a sister organisation with the resources to fund such large-scale projects, Ms Pelosse says. "We need public money, public credit. The next step for me is to really build up an international bank, then you could really give a bigger amount of credit and you could go for larger projects."
Once you start looking at the potential in the developing world, she says, staggering opportunities abound. Kenya and other east African states could produce 7,000mw of electricity from geothermal, but to date they generate only 200mw. Nepal could generate 200,000mw of electricity by damming the great rivers that flow down from the Himalayas, but to date they have developed only 700mw. "Look at the impact on the country, I'm not talking about 10mw," Ms Pelosse says of Kenya's project. "There's really not much subsidy, it's already competitive. Here it's more a question of how do you get the financing right."
cstanton@thenational.ae
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECVT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E119bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E145Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh%2C89%2C900%20(%2424%2C230)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
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Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia