Rationale

The major motivations for the establishment of the Energy Center in the Faculty of Technology—AAU are outlined below.

· The high demand of research professionals and qualified personnel with technical and managerial knowledge and skill to promote and implement renewable energy technologies to backup the country’s energy requirements;

· The need for disciplined and professionally competent management groups with diverse skills in areas like organizational leadership, change management, financial management, human and material resources management, etc.;

· The demand for high quality and efficient power production in the country which is achievable though research and development in electrical power;

· Research and development in the production of electro-mechanical devices can play great role in developing companies that will be engaged in building electric power industries and that eventually could reduce investment costs of imported power plant components;

· Rising prices of petroleum calls for applied research in alternative fuels, adaptation of bio-fuel technologies, assembling of small scale bio-fuel production systems, and pilot production, characterization of bio-fuels and identification of performance and operational problems of vehicles that run with bio-fuels;

· Research on and development of very efficient stoves, that would improve household energy efficiency, could reduce the adverse effect of wood firing on the environment;

· Conducting energy audit in the major industries of the country and identifying feasible energy conservation measures can be applied to reduce energy losses in industrial processes and ultimately contribute to industrial energy conservation and increase of industrial productivity.

· Identification of energy resources and their rational utilization require continuous study and research if long term energy needs of the economy are to be met in a cost effective manner.