STORY: Visiting power plant, UN Envoy calls for more

investment in Somalia’s renewable energy sources

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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 28/APRIL/2018

SHOT LIST
1. Wide shot, Beco Power Generating Company in Mogadishu
2. Med shot, Beco Power Generating Company in Mogadishu
3. Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG)
for Somalia, walking towards the facility
4. Wide shot, generators at Beco Power Generating Company in Mogadishu
5. Med shot, Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia being shown around the facility
6. Wide shot, technicians repairing one of the electricity generators at Beco in
Mogadishu
7. Med shot, technicians repairing one of the electricity generators at Beco in
Mogadishu
8. Close up shot, hands of a technician loosening bolts as he repairs one of the
electricity generators at Beco in Mogadishu
9. Med shot, technician loosening bolts of one of the electricity generators at
Beco in Mogadishu
10. Med shot, technician operating a generator
11. Wide shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia taking pictures of the facility with his mobile
phone
12. Close up shot, Beco sticker on a generator
13. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) MICHAEL KEATING, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF
THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL (SRSG) FOR SOMALIA
“Somalia has a population that is growing very fast, that is urbanising very
fast. Unfortunately, the environment has been badly damaged through
conflict, through unregulated exploitation of forests and pasture lands, and so
using fossil fuels is very bad in terms of protecting the natural environment
upon which so many people depend.”

14. Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-

General (SRSG) for Somalia walking out to another facility
15. Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia, being shown around the facility
16. Med shot, electrical equipment at the facility
17. Close up shot, electrical equipment at the facility
18. Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia, being shown transformers at the facility
19. Close up shot, logo on a transformer
20. Wide shot, transformers at the facility
21. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) MICHAEL KEATING, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF
THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL (SRSG) FOR SOMALIA
“There is opportunity for new investment. So investing in renewable energy
sources and trying to bring the cost of energy down in ways that are good for
the consumer but also protect the environment and perhaps bring
communities together, because one option is if people have solar panels and
if you can generate, have solar panels on your house, or in your village or in
your street, you can actually contribute energy to the grid. And it’s good for
strengthening local relations as well. So there are lots of big benefits.”

22. Wide shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-

General (SRSG) for Somalia, being shown around another section of the
facility
23. Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia, being shown around the facility
24. Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia, looking at equipment at the facility
25. Close up shot, gauges and buttons on an equipment at the facility
26. Med shot, plant manager explaining to the SRSG how the equipment at the
facility works
27. Med shot, Michael Keating, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia
28. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) MOHAMUD FARAH ALI, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER
BECO POWER GENERATING COMPANY
“Sustainable energy is the key. If we don’t invest in that, that means we are
not investing in anything. Look, we have a very good sunny (climate). In
Somalia we have more than five hours (of sunshine) per day. So it’s real
investment in renewable energy in Somalia, and that is what we are doing
now.”

29. Med shot, technician checking out equipment at the facility

30. Med shot, Michael Keating, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia walking to another section of the facility
31. Wide shot, employees of Beco Power Generating Company at the facility
32. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) MOHAMUD FARAH ALI, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER
BECO POWER GENERATING COMPANY
“Whenever we invest in 2.5 megawatts of solar, we cut 10,000 barrels of
diesel, which means we are cutting carbon dioxide from the air. So it is a real
investment to invest in renewable energy.”
33. Close up shot, employee at Beco Power Generating Company preparing to
empty fuel into a storage tank
 34. Wide shot, employee at Beco Power Generating Company preparing to empty
fuel into the storage tank
35. Wide shot, fuel storage tank at Beco Power Generating Company
36. Wide shot, Michael Keating, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia walking to another section of the facility
37. Med shot, Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-
General (SRSG) for Somalia talking to the chief technical officer at the facility

END

Visiting power plant, UN envoy calls for more investment in Somalia’s renewable
energy sources

Mogadishu, 28 April 2018 - The top United Nations official in Somalia today
highlighted the challenges and potential of the country's energy sector,
while appealing to investors to support its development of renewable energy
sources.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Michael Keating,

made the call during a visit to the Enee thermal power-generating plant in the
capital, Mogadishu.

“Somalia has a population that is growing and urbanizing very fast. Unfortunately,
the environment has been very badly damaged through conflict and unregulated
exploitation of forests and pasture lands,” the UN envoy said.

“Using fossil fuels is very bad in terms of protecting the natural environment upon
which so many depend,” he added at the plant, which is owned by the Beco Power
Generating Company, one of the country’s leading electricity utilities.

Years of armed conflict devastated Somalia’s energy sector, forcing residents to use
non-renewable sources of energy that pollute the environment. Owing to its reliance
on imported fossil fuels, Somalia has one of the African continent’s most expensive
electricity rates, with a kilowatt of electricity in Mogadishu costing as much as $1 an
hour.

“Investing in renewable energy sources and trying to bring the cost of energy down
in ways that are good for the consumer can protect the environment and bring
communities together,” noted Mr. Keating.

The Beco company’s Chief Technical Officer Mohamud Farah Ali described the
development of renewable sources of energy as a top priority for the Mogadishu-
based utility.

“Sustainable energy is the key. In Somalia we have more than five hours (of
sunshine), so we really need to invest in renewable energy,” Mr. Ali said.

Beco has set itself the goals of boosting its solar power generation capacity by 5.5
megawatts annually and eventually reducing the amount of power generated by
fossil fuels to less than 40 per cent of the company’s total production.

Mr. Ali said that the company’s consumption of diesel fuel is reduced by 10,000
barrels for every 2.5 megawatts of energy generated by solar technology. The utility
currently uses up to 17,000 barrels of diesel fuel per month to generate electricity.

Beco was founded in May 2014 and currently supplies 50 megawatts of power
annually to consumers in Mogadishu and other cities, including Barawe, Marka,
Afgooye, Balcad, Jowhar and Kismayo.

Early next month, Special Representative Keating is due to attend the Sustainable
Energy for All Forum in Portugal where, along with Somali energy ministry officials,
he will discuss the Horn of Africa country’s energy sector, its potential for sustainable
energy investments and other related topics.