LE BOURGET, France: Thirty-six countries gave the official start Monday to an initiative to promote geothermal energy in developing economies as a cleaner alternative to oil, gas and coal.
The Global Geothermal Alliance, launched on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Le Bourget, aims at a sixfold increase in geothermal electricity production and a tripling of geothermal-derived heating by 2030.
At present, geothermal is growing modestly, at three to four percent per year, providing 12 gigawatts of electricity annually.
But this just a fraction of its overall potential of 100 gigawatts, according to the industry. Only 24 out of 90 countries with geothermal potential actually use the resource.
The alliance said its members will seek to overcome “political uncertainty” about geothermal and strengthen the industry’s skills base.
The Global Geothermal Alliance initiative was sketched out in September 2014 at a summit organized by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Members include countries on thermal “hotspots” in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, ranging from Kenya and Tanzania to Malaysia, the Philippines and Guatemala.
Geothermal energy entails drilling into hot rock and using the heated water to generate electricity or provide heating for communities.
It is considered exceptionally clean, as the heat extraction process requires far lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) compared with fossil fuels.
It is also deemed sustainable, given the almost limitless source of the energy, although individual wells can cool down or run out of water.
Obstacles to geothermal are the high cost of drilling and risks entailed in the exploration phase.
“Geothermal energy development particularly in developing countries faces important challenges,” the alliance said.
“Due to risks related to geological drilling during the exploration phase, along with the associated costs, financing the early stage of the process is limited to investors that understand and accept the possible associated risks.”
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36 countries launch world alliance for geothermal energy
36 countries launch world alliance for geothermal energy
South Africa to expel Kenyans working on US Afrikaner ‘refugee’ applications
JOHANNESBURG: South African authorities have arrested and will expel seven Kenyans accused of working without the correct documentation on a US government program to accept white Afrikaners as “refugees,” the home affairs department said Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump’s administration in May offered refugee status to the minority white Afrikaner community, claiming they were victims of discrimination and even “genocide,” which the Pretoria government strongly denies.
The US government reportedly engaged Kenyans from a Christian NGO based in Kenya to come to South Africa to fast-track the processing of applications for resettlement under the program.
During a raid on an application processing center in Johannesburg on Tuesday, “seven Kenyan nationals were discovered engaging in work despite only being in possession of tourist visas, in clear violation of their conditions of entry into the country,” the South African home affairs department said.
“They were arrested and issued with deportation orders, and will be prohibited from entering South Africa again for a five-year period,” it said in a statement.
The raid came after “intelligence reports indicated that a number of Kenyan nationals had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas and had illegally taken up work at a center processing the applications of so-called ‘refugees’ to the United States,” it said.
Trump essentially halted refugee arrivals after taking office in January but made an exception for the Afrikaners despite Pretoria’s insistence that they do not face persecution.
A first group of around 50 Afrikaners — descendants of the first European settlers of South Africa — were flown to the United States on a chartered plane in May. Others have reportedly followed in smaller numbers and on commercial flights.
The South African home affairs department said no US officials were arrested in the raid, which was not conducted at a diplomatic site.
No prospective “refugees” were harassed, it said, adding that the government had contacted US and Kenyan officials over the issue.
- ‘Unacceptable’ -
Ties between Washington and Pretoria have plummeted since Trump took office in January, with his administration lashing out at South Africa over a range of policies, expelling its ambassador in March and imposing 30-percent trade tariffs.
After reports emerged of a raid, US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement to US media that “interfering” in US refugee operations was “unacceptable.”
Washington officials were “seeking immediate clarification from the South African government and expect full cooperation and accountability,” he said.
US President Donald Trump’s administration in May offered refugee status to the minority white Afrikaner community, claiming they were victims of discrimination and even “genocide,” which the Pretoria government strongly denies.
The US government reportedly engaged Kenyans from a Christian NGO based in Kenya to come to South Africa to fast-track the processing of applications for resettlement under the program.
During a raid on an application processing center in Johannesburg on Tuesday, “seven Kenyan nationals were discovered engaging in work despite only being in possession of tourist visas, in clear violation of their conditions of entry into the country,” the South African home affairs department said.
“They were arrested and issued with deportation orders, and will be prohibited from entering South Africa again for a five-year period,” it said in a statement.
The raid came after “intelligence reports indicated that a number of Kenyan nationals had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas and had illegally taken up work at a center processing the applications of so-called ‘refugees’ to the United States,” it said.
Trump essentially halted refugee arrivals after taking office in January but made an exception for the Afrikaners despite Pretoria’s insistence that they do not face persecution.
A first group of around 50 Afrikaners — descendants of the first European settlers of South Africa — were flown to the United States on a chartered plane in May. Others have reportedly followed in smaller numbers and on commercial flights.
The South African home affairs department said no US officials were arrested in the raid, which was not conducted at a diplomatic site.
No prospective “refugees” were harassed, it said, adding that the government had contacted US and Kenyan officials over the issue.
- ‘Unacceptable’ -
Ties between Washington and Pretoria have plummeted since Trump took office in January, with his administration lashing out at South Africa over a range of policies, expelling its ambassador in March and imposing 30-percent trade tariffs.
After reports emerged of a raid, US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement to US media that “interfering” in US refugee operations was “unacceptable.”
Washington officials were “seeking immediate clarification from the South African government and expect full cooperation and accountability,” he said.
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