We don't have this new type of anaerobic fermentation technology. I think it will be good for our country, because we have much resource which is unutilized, Gosaye Mengistie Abayneh, senior energy consultant of Ministry of Water and Energy of Ethiopia, said after a trip to the Agricultural Water Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization Project in Chongming, Shanghai, during a workshop themed Advancing Renewable Energy Technology Transfer and Knowledge Exchanges towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development held in Fudan University from April 9-13.
Under the framework of “China-Ethiopia-Sri Lanka South-South Cooperation and Trilateral Cooperation Project on Renewable Energy Technology Transfer”, experts and scholars from Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and China gathered at Fudan to discuss the prospects of cooperation in energy technology through study tours and thematic knowledge sharing sessions.
With global climate change accelerating, it has become a trend of the international community to replace traditional fossil energy with renewable energy, and develop green industries to promote high-quality development.
During the workshop, the attendees paid a visit to two renewable energy plants in Chongming, seeking solutions to global warming and sustainable development while learning innovative energy technology.
Chongming Greenland Happy Fishing Ground, which adopts “photovoltaic + fishery”, a creative combination of new energy power generation and aquaculture, realizes a new development model of “fishery, electricity and environmental protection”. In addition, the Agricultural Water Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization Project in Chongming, guided by Zhang Shicheng, professor at Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, can process 200t/d pig manure and 85 t/d crop straw, and produce 7,000 m3/d biogas and 80-100t/d organic fertilizer, combining medium and high temperature wet anaerobic and Swiss “garage type” dry anaerobic fermentation process, and large span tank type organic fertilizer tumbling process.
“I think in Sri Lanka, we can apply solar and renewable energy technology in farming and agricultural sectors for a smaller scale, and it will be very helpful for us,” said Ravindra Dhanapala, chief engineer of Provincial Council, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.
“Africa is the ‘green lung’ of the planet, but it is heavily deforested every year. Biomass and biogas technologies can be used for biomass stoves, which can enhance energy efficiency by three to four times and reduce deforestation by 70 to 80 percent,” said Dong Renjie, professor at China Agricultural University (CAU), who believes bio-energy can meet the demands of developing countries.
Zhang Shicheng pointed out that African countries have a large demand for energy technology while having diversified requirements. Only by taking the reality into consideration can we truly meet their needs for development. “For underdeveloped countries, high-cost technologies are not suitable, said Zhang.
Developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have much in common in terms of development stages and conditions, and they are faced with challenges such as industrial upgrading, energy transition and environmental governance, said Wang Yutao, professor at Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University. “Fostering exchanges on technologies that promote green, low-carbon and sustainable development are critical measures to help realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
“We want to establish a standard for technology exchange, which will make technology transfer more accessible,” said Chen Bin, a researcher on Wang Yutao’s team, who is working hard to promote carbon neutrality standards and certification towards a low-carbon transition. “The climate issue cannot be solved, if only China achieves carbon neutrality. We must work together to promote this global issue through international cooperation,” he said.
According to Sun Mingxing, an associate researcher at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, China already has a number of mature technologies that can be transferred, such as photovoltaics, biomass and offshore wind power, but there are still diverse challenges. “The buttress of the government is very important, and detailed legal provisions can provide support for Chinese enterprises to ‘go global’. In addition, it is also essential to recruit local labor force and teach them how to use the technology and gain profits,” said Sun.
“We hope to build platforms to help enterprises and universities communicate with each other, and help them solve problems that occur in technology transfer, so as to promote the cooperation between the two sides,” said Zou Shujun, executive president of National Eastern Tech-Transfer Center, which is committed to providing a full chain of services including technology transaction, technology finance and industry incubation.
Wang Rongfang, director general of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST), Huang Jing, director general of China Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21 of Ministry of Science and Technology of (MOST-ACCA21), Xu Lei, vice president of Fudan University, H.A.Vimal Nadeera, deputy director general (Supply Side Management) of Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA), Wubua Mekonnen, team leader for Climate Adaptation and Environmental Sustainability Unit of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Ethiopia), Gosaye Mengistie Abayneh, senior energy consultant of Ministry of Water and Energy of Ethiopia (MOWE), Dong Renjie, professor at CAU, made speeches at the kick-off meeting. James George, deputy resident representative of UNDP, China delivered speech via video. Chen Qizhen, deputy director general, ACCA21, made a speech at the wrap-up session.
China, as a South-South Cooperation and trilateral cooperation partner, plays an important role in global development by sharing knowledge, expertise and technologies in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Goals.
Within this context, in partnership with the governments of China, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, UNDP is implementing the Biogas, Biomass and Solar Trilateral Cooperation Project (the Project) with the aim of improving local access to clean and renewable energy in Ethiopia and Sri Lanka. The Project is expected to facilitate two-way exchanges of expertise and technologies, as well as mutual learning among China, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka.
Specifically, the Project is expected to catalyze and apply sustainable solutions in Ethiopia’s farming and agricultural sectors; and to support Sri Lanka in achieving its national targets for reducing GHG emission through trial and demonstration of the potential of biogas and solar in the country’s agro-industry sector.
The Project is a collaboration between Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM), MOST-ACCA21, MOWE, SLSEA, CAU and UNDP (in Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and China). Chinese partners (i.e. MOST-ACCA21 and CAU) provide technical support and inputs.
As one of the deliverables under the Project, and under the guidance from MOFCOM, MOST, MOWE, SLSEA and UNDP, the workshop themed “Advancing Renewable Energy Technology Transfer and Knowledge Exchange towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (the Workshop) was organized by ACCA21, with technical support from CAU and Fudan University. Through study tours and thematic knowledge sharing sessions, the Workshop was aimed at fostering mutual learning opportunities for key stakeholders under the Project on sustainable renewable energy options, pathways and relevant technologies in advancing low-carbon transition from the ground.
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Writer: Wang Mengqi
Editor: Li Yijie
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