Energy Transition exhibit marks launch of German Week

AMMAN — Germany’s Energy Transition (Energiewende) exhibition was inaugurated on Saturday, as part of the opening ceremony of the German Week, held under the patronage of HRH Princess Sumaya.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Al Kharabsheh and German Ambassador Birgitta Siefker-Eberle attended the ceremony, along with Jordanian and German officials. 

Commending the strong “bond of friendship and cooperation” between the two countries, Kharabsheh thanked Germany for its support to the Kingdom’s efforts in shifting from conventional to renewable energy.

For her part, the German ambassador said: “This exhibition is a very ambitious and long-term project with the aim to become more independent of oil and gas imports, and completely phase out of nuclear energy by 2022.”

“Jordan belongs to the avant-garde in the Arab world when it comes to the use of techniques for the production of renewable energy as the country offers important natural preconditions for their application [space and sun],” she noted 

Stressing the importance of energy transition worldwide, she noted that a number of questions and misunderstandings still remain, highlighting the importance of the travelling exhibition in spreading awareness and knowledge about the issue. 

Scheduled to run until September 28, the exhibition was devised by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and is held in cooperation with the Jordan Museum.

“The ‘Energiewende’ is our answer to the question of how we can make the energy supply secure, affordable and sustainable,” an embassy statement said, adding that “Germany decided to switch the entire energy supply from fossil fuels to renewables to become increasingly energy efficient and become a leader in the field of climate protection.”

Outlining the development of the “Energiewende” since the 1970s, the exhibition covers various aspects of the energy transition since the German government implemented its first environmental programme in 1971. 

Divided into various thematic stations, it covers topics such as energy efficiency, heating, mobility, renewable energies, costs for consumer, climate protection and other fields. 

“This exhibition is very interactive: it has a multimedia quiz table, a feedback station and many other activities. It aims to engage people to participate and get involved rather than just read posters on the walls,” head of the cultural and press department at the embassy Jaime Sperberg told The Jordan Times.

Inaugurated in April 2016 in Beijing, the exhibition has since been shown in about 30 locations in 14 different countries.

On the sidelines of the exhibition opening, a marketplace exposed the works and projects of various German institutions, including the German Jordanian University, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology of the Holy Land, the Gerda Henkel and the Goethe-Institut, among others. 

“This marketplace is a great chance to learn more about the German culture and discover other sides of the country,” Njood, a Jordanian married to a German national said at the event.

Revolving around the theme of “energy”, these organisations are all part of “a process that will open up new business opportunities, foster innovation, create jobs, boost growth and make all of us less dependent on oil and gas imports”, an embassy statement said. 

Jordan recently announced that its renewable energy production will be increased five-fold by 2020, through the implementations of various solar and wind energy projects. 

The German Week 2017 will run through September 21, featuring a variety of events and exhibitions promoting the German culture the embassy statement said.