Category: English News

Energy Efficiency (EE) is the immediate and effective way to reduce the industrial production costs in addition to its role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and improving the availability of energy supply. It has been widely demonstrated that EE improvements do not require investments and that they can be achieved through applying no-cost/low-cost measures. The Industrial Energy Efficiency (IEE) project believes that achieving significant changes in EE requires integrating EE considerations in the decision-making process within organizations.

On 29 January 2015, HE Dr. Khaled Fahmy, Minister of Environment and HE Dr. Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, Minister of Trade, Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises met with a team of experts working within the IEE project in Egypt to discuss the plan for the development of a national strategy and roadmap to promote Industrial Energy Efficiency in Egypt. The strategy identifies the vision, objectives and priorities, with a focus on the current situation in Egypt in terms of energy availability, usage, supply and efficiency.

The meeting displayed the high level commitment of both Ministries to support energy efficiency in the industrial sector. It also gave a good momentum for the first consultation workshop, which took place on 24 and 25 February 2015, which was attended by an experienced team representing relevant ministries, and governmental organizations. The team provided their inputs to the proposed strategy in order to ensure its effectiveness with regard to industrial EE in Egypt.

The aim of the workshop was: Present key insights on the current anatomy of IEE in Egypt and receive input from workshop participants

Align on the proposed IEE vision
Align on the strategic objectives
Generate potential actions to achieve objectives and mitigate challenges, and finally
Agree on policy filters and phasing criteria.

IEE project provided the necessary technical support for Sidpec company for petrochemicals to achieve ISO 50001 in applying EnMS to improve energy efficiency consumed in the industrial processes. This achievement is attained through strong partnership with IEE project in Egypt, implemented by the UNIDO and financed by the GEF in cooperation with Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Industry, Trade Small and Medium Enterprises and the Federation of Egyptian Industries.

Eng. Ahmed Helmy, Chairman of the company, stated that he is proud that this company was ISO 50001 certified which ensures the company’s commitment towards applying EnMS. He mentioned that applying EnMS in production processes will save up to 10% of the energy consumed using simple, no cost measures. Eng. Helmy added that receiving the ISO certificate reflects the staff commitment in quality management to promote energy efficiency and achieve sustainable development.

It is worth mentioning that achieving the ISO 50001 is a result of the technical support provided by the UNIDO. The company’s staff was trained on the means of applying EnMS and auditing the procedures and practices according to the international standards to achieve the maximum savings of the consumed energy without affecting production process or quality. This contributes in reducing production cost, increasing the production and quality and thus maximizing the profit and competitiveness. Also, it aims at decreasing the negative environmental impacts and reducing emissions which in turn contributes to environment protection.

As UNIDO believes in sharing successful models, and as Sidpec company is one of the companies that gained technical support from IEE project in Egypt – a project that prepare national cadres capable of increasing the awareness and applying EnMS in industry – Sidpec company will transfer the knowledge gained and apply EnMS in petrochemicals companies with support from the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding company.

A coordination meeting was held on Sunday, 17th August 2014 in the IEE project office. The meeting was initiated by the EEAA Central Department for Climate Change aiming at discussing synergies, means of cooperation and possibilities of unifying efforts between various projects. The meeting was attended by representatives from the IEE project, the Egyptian German Joint Committee on Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Environmental Protection (JCEEE), UNDP representative as well as the Low Emission Capacity Building project (LECB). This meeting is aligned with the IEE project’s ultimate goal which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by establishing a policy environment that enables and supports sustainable adoption of energy efficient technologies and management as an integral part of industries’ business practices.

On the 24th November, IEE launched an induction course in Energy Management Systems (EnMS). The course presents a methodological, organized approach to managing energy usage, based on the ISO 50001 standard. In this induction course, the IEE project targeted 12 consultants who will be responsible for developing and implementing EnMS in different facilities.

This is the first time to have this training course delivered by two national experts Dr. Abdel Hamid Beshara and Eng. Marwa Samir after building their capacities by international consultants through the IEE project and now they are transferring acquired knowledge to a group of national trainees which clearly proves that knowledge has been transferred from international consultants to national experts.

The European Union (EU) in cooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy organized “the First Euro-Egyptian Energy Day” on Friday 21st November 2014 at Aquarium Grotto Garden in Zamalek to highlight the important role of individuals in saving energy.

HE Dr. Khaled Fahmy, Minister of Environment, stated that there is a huge need to use new and renewable energy not only because the increase in population but the increasing needs of individuals as well. He mentioned that Egypt is facing an energy challenge resulting from entire dependence on fossil fuels such as natural gas and oil, referring that the current crisis requires developing a future energy strategy.

HE Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, Minister of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises, declared that diversifying energy resources and developing new and renewable energies is important. HE Abdel Nour mentioned that energy is vital to industry, as it creates job opportunities and encourage industrial production.

Dr. Anhar Hegazy, Head of the Energy Efficiency unit at the Information and Descision Support Center (IDSC), stated that the selection of EU of this place reflects the importance given to citizens and raising awareness in an entertaining atmosphere to capture their interest.

Dr. Anhar added that energy saving awareness campaigns should include interacting activities as well as engaging citizens directly to ensure their response towards saving energy.

On behalf of the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mr. Mohamed Mousa Omran, secretary general of the Minister, stated that electric energy is the basic foundation for all projects. He stated that around 1000 megawatt can be saved daily only if the citizens power off unused equipments.

Ambassador James Moran, EU Ambassador in Cairo, stated that the EU have been witnessing successes in the field of renewable energy and emissions reduction, this is reflected in the participation of a number of Egyptian ministries in this event.

In the annual celebration of the World Standardization Day for the year 2014, which the member states of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) celebrate, the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS) organized an event “standards ensure fair opportunities”. The event was held under the auspicious of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Small and Medium Enterprises on Sunday 16th November 2014 at Semeramis Hotel.

HE Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, Minister of Industry, Trade and Small and Medium Enterprises announced that 3 Egyptian companies working in the fields of food, textiles and petrochemicals won the 1st places of the Arab quality award presented by the Arab Organization for Industrial Development and Mining.

HE Abdel Nour demonstrated that these awards are considered an international testimony that confirms the commitment of the Egyptian industry in applying the International quality standards and competitiveness in local and global markets.

Eng. Gihan Bayoumi, National Project Coordinator of the IEE project stressed on the importance of improving EE and introduced EnMS as well as services and trainings offered by the project. Moreover, she referred to economic savings that industrial organizations could achieve through no cost / low cost interventions identified along the implementation of EnMS.

It is worth mentioning that Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (Sidpec) Company, Arab award winner, is one of the companies implementing energy management systems (EnMS) through the IEE project.

Believing in the role of the IEE Project in Egypt implemented by UNIDO and its remarkable achievements in industrial energy saving, the Energy Committee at the Federation of Egypitan Industries (FEI) invited the project on 16th November 2014 to present the provided services and trainings on energy efficiency. Eng. Gihan Bayoumi highlighted the importance of industrial energy efficiency and the ISO 50001 relevant trainings provided through the project. She highlighted success stories that some facilities achieved through the support and services provided by the project.

The mission of the FEI is motivating economic industrial growth on the national level and exports level too through employing an independent methodology characterized by sustainability and integration to foster global competitiveness along with balancing the needs of the relevant parties.

The IEE project offered this quarter two webinars that took place at UNIDO-IEE’s office on 9th October and 12th November 2014. These Webinars cover a range of issues and challenges currently faced by energy experts and reflects a healthy platform for national and international consultants to interact with energy experts through a video conference session to discuss different ways to overcome their challenges and implement an efficient energy management systems in the assigned facilities.

Under the auspices of Minister of Environment and Minister of Trade, Industry, small and medium interprises, HE Dr. Khaled Fahmy, Minister of Environment inaugurated INTERCEM Energy Forum for examining sustainable, environmentally secure energy options for cement production. This event took place from the 1st to 2nd of December 2014 at the Conrad hotel Cairo.

HE Dr. Khaled revealed that the environmental standards, regulations and terms for using coal in cement industry identified the period for coal usage from 2015 to 2030, while reviewing the international mechanism for its usage.

HE Fahmy revealed that the industrial sector is one of the largest and most important sectors of development in Egypt, and the development of this sector is a priority for the government which encourage a shift towards sustainable development. HE Fahmy highlighted that industry and environment are the two components for development, that’s why environmental considerations must be included within the priorities of industry.

This special forum gathered leading stakeholders from across the cement and energy sectors, government, and other interested parties, to provide a balanced and comprehensive discussion that explored all the energy options available during this transformational period in Egypt and the surrounding countries.

The IEE project in Egypt implemented by UNIDO participated in the event and Dr. Amr Osama Abdel-Aziz, IEE consultant presented “Energy Benchmarking Study for the Cement Sector in Egypt”, a study that has been prepared through the IEE project. Also the IEE project showed some promotional material to raise awareness of the project activities and services.

The cement industry is an extremely important contributor to the development of the Egyptian economy and it is vital that an economic and environmentally sustainable solution is found to fuelling it now, and in the future.

The IEE project participated in a meeting to discuss the challenges facing the cement sector in Egypt and the possible means to overcome it. The meeting was held on 26th November at the Cairo House.

Dr. Attwa Hussien, head of the environmental management sector organized this meeting. During the meeting Eng. Gihan Bayoumi, project coordinator, presented the activities and services provided by the project and highlighted the achievements made in saving energy in the industrial sector. Dr. Amr Osama, Project consultant presented “the benchmarking study for cement sector in Egypt”.

Cement industry is considered one of the most important industries that helps the economic development in Egypt. Accordingly the Ministry of Environment is attempting to apply the principles of clean industry through providing the necessary technical support for cement companies to reconcile their environmental status to reduce their emissions.