Irena ready to set up an office in Germany

An official with the green energy agency says Germany's Bonn, which competed against Abu Dhabi as a location for the group's headquarters, is a logical choice to have a presence in the hub of renewable energy expertise.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber (CQ), CEO and managing director of Masdar are reflected in the mirrors of the Beam-Down solar power project in Abu Dhabi.

ABU DHABI // The green energy organisation, Irena is preparing to open an office in Bonn, Germany, by spring, a top official says.

Adnan Amin, the interim director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, said yesterday the Bonn initiative comes as key countries prepare to join the group's 150 members. Meanwhile, the first annual budget was established at US$20 million (Dh73.4m).

An Irena representation office in the former West German capital has been planned since the headquarters were awarded to Abu Dhabi in June 2009. At that time, Bonn was one of three European cities competing with the UAE capital.

Yesterday, Mr Amin said that Irena was already in discussions with the German government, which is contributing $2m annually to fund the office. "The Bonn office is an integral part of Irena," said Mr Amin, explaining that Europe was where key renewable energy experts and decision makers were based.

Mr Amin and his staff are also in talks with architects and developers of the new headquarters of the Abu Dhabi clean energy company, Masdar. The building, which will generate its energy from renewable sources, will house the Abu Dhabi company, as well as Irena's offices.

"We need to make sure we have a clear identity in that building," said Mr Amin, adding the move was likely to happen by mid-2013.

The Masdar complex, being built at a site close to Abu Dhabi International Airport, has already attracted global attention. This week, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, was the latest to join a list of influential visitors.

The US is one of 150 Irena members, as are most countries that play a part in the renewable energy field, Mr Amin said. Three others are needed, including China, which "is studying the statute with a view to signing it".

"We need Brazil, which is an important country in the renewables field, to become part of this exercise, and we need Russia," Mr Amin said.

The two countries "are well aware of Irena", he said, and he expected them to join soon.

Irena aims to facilitate the fast adoption of renewable energy worldwide. While it will not work on specific projects, it aims to compile reliable information on industry trends and technologies, advising governments on how to create policies that promote the growth of the sector. Much of the work will help developing countries develop pools of local experts in the field.

This year, the most important dates on the Irena calendar are April 4 and 5, when the first session of its assembly will take place in the capital and the green energy body will become a full-fledged organisation demanding "mandatory" financial contributions from its members.

If the agency's work becomes ambitious enough, annual spending could reach as high as $300m per year, said Mr Amin.

"We see this as just the beginning," he said. "Here it really depends on the political commitment. Countries have to decide if this is the budget they want. It is quite realistic to look at fairly substantial growth in budget in the medium term."

The slow progress of UN climate change negotiations could fuel IRENA's work, he said.

As governments find it hard to agree on a legally binding agreement to cut greenhouse gases, the focus could well shift to increased co-operation in renewable energy.

"For renewable energy to be meaningful, it has to be widespread around the world," said Mr Amin. "The principal challenge is going to be overcoming this perception … that somehow renewable energy is uneconomic and unfeasible."