Eröffnung des 6. Deutsch-Afrikanischen Energieforums

Mr Liebing,

Excellencies,

Mr Oettinger,

State Secretary Mr Hintze,

President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce,

Members of the Consular Corps,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Africa is full of energy. And by this, I mean much more than oil, gas and coal. Africa is a continent that is on the move, and Africans between Tripoli and Capetown deserve the admiration of the entire world for the energy they apply to confronting and mastering their future. 

Today we are also referring to physical quantities of energy that we can only dream of in Europe. We in Northern Europe are particularly envious of the sun you have and this is not only because it is cold and dark here for half of the year. As the continent with the most hours of sunlight, Africa’s potential for energy generation is only beginning to be exploited.

This is seen especially in relation to the increasing importance of renewable energy. It is true that fossil fuels will continue to play an important role in the coming years and decades. But we will need to use them as sparingly and efficiently as possible, so that we can conserve our resources and protect the climate. This is a responsibility that must be borne jointly by the business, scientific and political communities. 

Here in Hamburg we have plenty of wind sometimes more than we would like, in fact. Like the sun, wind is a resource that is not diminished when we use it. Wind and sun are inexhaustible resources for generating energy. This offers excellent prospects in a world that requires more and more energy and that forces us, for this reason alone, to be extremely careful in our use of oil, coal and gas.

We all know that relying solely on fossil fuels today is, in the long term, about as smart as backing into a one-way street with fumes coming out of your exhaust pipe. I am very pleased especially as the Mayor of the European Green Capital for 2011 that renewable energy is being given such high priority at the 6th German-African Energy Forum. 

Northern Germany is already a centre for the development of cleaner energy. Renewables may still be a relatively young field, but it is one that is gaining in importance. In Hamburg, it is growing at an exceptionally high rate. We are proud to be not only the capital of wind energy, but also a pioneer in the transition to sustainable energy.

The region has been able to attract a number of major companies, especially for wind energy. This, of course, is partly due to the growth of the off-shore wind energy sector. In the past months, companies such as Gamesa Wind, Dong Energy, and Areva Wind have set up new offices in Hamburg. Furthermore, Siemens are going to move their wind energy division to Hamburg as well. This is a great success, one that sends positive signals to the entire Metropolitan Region.

This is also a necessity, in view of the German government’s decision last year to phase out of nuclear energy by the year 2022. Renewable energy is at the top of the list to replace it.

Several hundred companies in this field have already taken up residence in Hamburg, including those active in solar energy and biomass, many of whom are represented at this conference. And those of you who went on the harbour tour yesterday may have noticed the wind turbines. At a height of 200 metres, they are among the highest structures in the city and generate enough power to meet the needs of about 4,000 households. 

Our goal is to make Hamburg into a trailblazer in innovative, reliable and safe energy generation. It is said that he who knows his goal will find the right path. So I would like to tell you something about our path and give you some examples of what we are doing to promote the energy turnaround, that is, to reduce the use of fossil fuels and to replace them by renewable fuels. 

In 2010, the Hamburg Senate joined forces with the business and scientific communities to establish the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster. This network links the broad spectrum of expertise provided by companies, research organisations and institutes in the renewable energy industry. It promotes the exchange of knowledge and experience, which is an absolute impérative if progress is to be made. It initiates cooperation between business, research and administration, and other fields, such as those in the area of new materials. Young talents are also actively fostered through collaborations with universities, technical universities, research institutes, and various companies.

Energy turnaround also means that renewable energies must be fed into the grid preferéntially. This means that when the wind is blowing, or when the sun is shining the power they produce must be used or stored first. This requires innovative storage technology. And Hamburg wants to be in the vanguard in this field, too.

This means that we are dealing with a power system that must cope with increasing fluctuations, but still ensure a reliable energy supply for an industrialised city with a population of 1.8 million. To compensate for the variable availability of renewable energy on days without wind, for example we will be erecting power plants that are efficient and can be quickly regulated, and that will be able to provide energy when not enough renewables can be supplied.

Offshore wind energy, however, is not progressing in a desirable way so far. More than anything, and with accelerating pace, new interregional overhead transmission lines have to be planned and financed. Electricity which is generated offshore is needed onshore. The North German States and the Federal Government will have to co-operate more efficiently soon. Now, to be more exact.  

The energy turnaround also means decentralised solutions. One such example is the Energy Bunker in Hamburg Wilhelmsburg. This is a huge block of concrete that was intended to provide protection for people living in this part of the city during bombing raids in the Second World War. It contains so much concrete that it would have been extremely expensive to tear down. Now a hot water tank is being built inside it that is as large as two swimming pools. There will also be a solar thermal unit on the roof, a photovoltaic system on the façade facing south, a CHP generation plant that runs on biogas from a wastewater treatment plant, and a woodchip heating system.

When the Energy Bunker becomes operational at the beginning of next year, it will be possible to supply several thousand households with electricity and heat from sustainable sources.

The city of Hamburg will buy back 21.5 percent of the electricity, gas and district heat grid operating companies from the major energy suppliers. This will enable us to exercise a strategic influence on modifications in the municipal distribution networks in efforts toward achieving a decentralised, sustainable and climate-neutral supply of energy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We need more than an energy turnaround in Hamburg, Germany or Europe. We need one all over the world. After all, the global population is continuing to grow, and a large share of these people have insufficient access to energy, or none at all. On the other hand, a great deal of renewable energy from sun and wind, but also from geothermics and biomass remains unused.

We can tap these treasures. One example of this is Desertec. I would like to discuss this in somewhat greater detail, since this is closely related to our city. It was a citizen of Hamburg, the physicist Gerhard Knies, who came up with the idea of producing electricity from the desert for very distant markets. The German association for the Club of Rome, which was involved in developing this concept, also has its offices in Hamburg. And Hamburg is also the location of the headquarters of the non-profit Desertec Foundation, whose mission is to promote this concept worldwide in collaboration with local partners in politics and business.

Europe hopes that solar power from northern Africa will provide a more reliable supply of energy. But this is only one side of the coin.  In six hours, the world’s deserts absorb more energy than humanity uses in an entire year. Furthermore, 90 percent of the world’s population lives no further than 3,000 kilometres from these deserts.

Electricity from the desert thus means energy for the development of a sustainable industrial sector in regions that have been structurally weak and low-income up to now. This also means jobs, income and power for the use of the countries involved, such as for the operation of urgently needed seawater desalination plants.

So this concept is more than just an exciting technical innovation. It involves a global approach for meeting the world’s growing needs for energy. The Desertec Atlas, the world atlas of renewable energies, has just been published in Hamburg and it provides comprehensive information on all of this. So Desertec is also a chapter in the history of innovation Made in Hamburg. The EU, the German government, and major companies like Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Münchener Rück insurance company, and the energy companies E.ON and RWE all support Desertec.

The first projects are already becoming reality. In Morocco, a solar power plant will be built by 2015 in collaboration with the Desertec Foundation and is to produce 500 megawatts of electricity. In Tunisia, thousands of mirrors will pool the power of the sun and produce as much as 2 gigawatts of electricity about twice the heat of an average nuclear power plant and provide power to Europe beginning in 2016. An agreement has been signed with Algeria to work together more closely and to jointly develop renewable energies. 

This collaboration is not limited to northern Africa. We are looking into approaches for a communal climate partnership with Hamburg’s sister city, Dar es Salaam. Through the Generator Zero” project, we are investigating ways in which the high-emission diesel generators, which are activated during the frequent power outages, can be replaced by battery-powered solar back-up systems. Two graduates of Tanzanian universities come to Hamburg for six months each and gain professional experience in the field of renewable energies.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Africa is full of energy. When I say this, as I mentioned earlier, I am referring primarily to the energy of its people, who grow up differently from the people in Europe. These are women and men who are hungry for progress. Parents who want their children to have a better future. And they need energy for this. Let us work together to make sure that we will be able to produce this energy in a way that is as environmentally friendly, as cost-efficient, and as safe as possible. 

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is proud to be the host of this conference. I hope that you will all have a good time in Hamburg and Hannover, constructive talks, and much success on your path toward the energy supply of the future.

Es gilt das gesprochene Wort.