National Strategy for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

This National Strategy for Renewable Energy (REN) and Energy Efficiency (EE) is a nationwide sectoral document aiming to answer the main power sector issues, consisting of (i) high demand growth rate; (ii) limited natural gas supply for domestic utilization; and (iii) limited capacity shortage. The Proposed renewable energy and energy efficiency targets to be achieved by 2025 are (i) Grid electricity (large-scale electricity generation) through wind farms, geothermal power stations, and power stations using landfill gas; (ii) Off-grid electrification (electrification of individual rural households) through solar home systems; (iii) increase in energy efficiency; (iv) solar water heaters. The proposed policy objectives to promote renewable power generation and energy efficiency are as follows (i) optimizing the utilization of domestic energy resources to prevent increasing dependence on future fuel and energy/electricity imports and to improve the security of fuel supply (energy security); (ii) diversifying the country’s energy mix by increasing the share of renewable energies in electricity generation to decrease the dependence from fossil fuels, to improve the country’s economic situation and to protect the environment and climate by avoiding Green House Gas (GHG) emissions; (iii) ensuring poverty alleviation, sustainable rural development, and economic growth by promoting access to decentralized renewable energy conversion technologies to be incorporated in governmental development plans in all relevant sectors; (iv) eliminating peak and energy shortages through the promotion of renewable energies as well as through improved energy efficiency and conservation; (v) alleviating the impact on the poor of future rising fuel and electricity prices by promoting energy efficiency and conservation initiatives; (vi) promoting sustainable electricity sector development by creating and opening up the Yemeni electricity market to foreign and private investors as well as non-governmental institutions to provide renewable energy services in rural areas. To achieve the above targets, the Ministry of Electricity and Energy has formulated strategies that enhance the market deployment of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures as well as remove barriers to renewable energy development and energy conservation. Seven strategic areas of intervention were identified (1) Policy; (2) Resource utilization and market access; (3) Financial and fiscal incentives; (4) Financing; (5) Institutional arrangement; (6) Information and capacity building; and (7) Legal framework.
The success of the implementation of the Strategy for REN and EE will depend mainly on the ability to create an enabling legal framework to attract foreign and private investors and to enable public-private partnerships in the field of electricity generation through (i) the creation of an enabling investment climate for private investors and cooperatives in the field of decentralized power generation; (ii) the provision of an effective institutional framework to manage and operate rural electrification systems by Rural Electric Service Providers (especially consumer-owned cooperatives) through the Public Authority for Rural Electrification (PARE); (iii) the provision of market-based conditions for the private sector to participate in managing and operating rural electrification systems and ensure consumer protection (quality of service and regulated electricity tariffs).