Quoting from a recent interview by Engineering News Online, EDF senior VP for Africa Valerie Levkov said, "As an example, she cites wind energy as a good solution for South Africa, whereas a biomass solution would be more suitable for a country such as Côte d’Ivoire, given its biomass potential."

Each country in the continent has its own particular needs, financial capabilities and natural resources can be leveraged for sustainable renewable energy development.

Levkov further suggests that African countries should strongly consider biomass projects in the renewable energy space, adding that, on average, one biomass project can create up to 1 000 jobs in a rural region when taking into account the biomass supply chain.

“This is a very good example of the circular economy, where you bring in a lot of value first by developing a clean [or renewable] energy project and then by creating sustainable jobs and revenues for the local communities,” she says.

CMT's 3rd Biomass Trade & BioEnergy Africa offers insights from two perspective – local development of biomass to electricity to meet the energy needs and potential trade/export opportunities of woody and agricultural biomass from Africa to the demand markets in Europe and North Asia.