Overview of the Role of Energy Resources in Algeria’s Energy Transition

Abstract

Algeria is a wealthy country with natural resources, namely, nuclear, renewable, and non-renewable sources. The non-renewable energy sources are considered the lion’s share for energy production (98%). Algeria’s efforts to ensure and strengthen its energy security will take an important step in the coming decades by commissioning new energy infrastructure based on intensive use of water, coal, nuclear, non-renewable, and renewable sources. The implementation of new power infrastructure is expected to be operational from 2030. The renewable power realization in Algeria is relatively less compared to other African countries, i.e., Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, etc. The total renewable power installed capacity in Algeria reached 686 MW in 2020, as part of its national energy portfolio, although the Algerian government has spent tremendous efforts on introducing new sustainable technologies to enable the transition towards a cleaner and sustainable energy system. Indeed, the country announced its plan to install around 22 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. It will include 1 GW bio-power from the waste, 13.5 GW from solar PV, 2 GW from CSP, 15 MW from geothermal, 400 MW cogeneration, and, finally, 5 GW from wind. The scope of the present research provides general information about the usage of energy resources such as fossil, nuclear, and renewable sources in Algeria and also covers the energy supply outlook. The present effort is the first of its kind which discusses the application of the coal and nuclear as clean energy sources as part of renewable energy transition. Additionally, it also includes the description of the existing Algerian energy sector and information about water and water desalination and their usage in other sectors.