Hélène Pelosse: Irena will not back UAE nuclear plans

Her appointment came months before the historic nuclear deal between UAE and South Korea, but Hélène Pelosse does not hesitate to distance herself from the project.

The Interim Director-General of International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) was firm that the agency will not back programmes aimed at developing nuclear energy, due to the risks they present and that also “nuclear is not at all a renewable form of energy.”

Talking exclusively to Alrroya.com during the just concluded World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi, Pelosse was categorical that “renewable energy will be the central activity of the agency.”

“Irena will act as a clearing house, informing about existing renewable energy technologies that have worked well in the past and could be deployed globally, as well as about promising innovative technologies,” the director-general said.

UAE’s nuclear reactors

Last month, a South Korean group won a landmark deal to build and operate four nuclear reactors for the UAE in one of Middle East’s biggest ever energy contracts.

The first nuclear plant in the Gulf Arab region is scheduled to start supplying power to the UAE grid in 2017, under the $40 billion deal which Seoul said it hoped would kick-start an export drive for its nuclear technology. A consortium led by state-owned utility Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) aims to complete the UAE’s four 1,400 megawatt reactors by 2020.

With an adopted budget of $13.7 million for 2010, Irena plans to focus on building a network of international renewable energy experts, start mapping the global potential of renewables and build up a comprehensive database of policies to promote renewable energy.

“Irena will become a one-stop-shop for up-to-date and relevant information on renewable energy. With this knowledge, the agency will assist its members in advancing renewables in their own national policies and programmes,” Pelosse said.

Many critics disparaged Abu Dhabi’s win to host Irena headquarters saying the office would be viewed as “tainted agency.” The concerns were based largely on the fact that the UAE had agreed to power on with its nuclear energy programmes.

“The assumption that Irena’s location here in Abu Dhabi would be tainted by nuclear interests is simply wrong. There is no way Irena is ever going to deal with nuclear energy since it’s not in the agency’s statutes,” Pelosse said.

Pelosse’s passion for clean energy

Passionate about renewable energy, Pelosse has her work cut out for her as she leads the world’s biggest agency that tackles renewable energy.

Last year she was instrumental in leading negotiations for European Union directive to achieve a 20 per cent renewable energy share of regional energy consumption by 2020. Due to this, European environmentalists dedicated the 2008 International Women’s Day to her.

Pelosse was born in Montréal and attended university in France, where she rose quickly through several government jobs, including work as a finance inspector and trade adviser.

She edged out four other nominees who were gunning for Irena’s top post.

At the energy summit in Abu Dhabi, the director general was impressed with companies’ innovative ideas for a ‘safer, eco-friendlier, cleaner world in future.” She said that Irena would help the development of Masdar City, which is planned to be the world’s first carbon-neutral city.

Pelosse supports the idea of introduction of carbon tax in the UAE, to cut down on gas emissions. France introduced a national carbon tax that the country plans to implement fully in 2011.

“The UAE government can come up with a policy along those same lines. For instance fuel taxation in itself is a type of tax on carbon. This is one tool that could be quite efficient,” Pelosse said.

“Aviation is also an industry that uses fuel that is not taxed right now. It is rather encouraging to see how players in this industry are currently working on biofuels research. This is one area that Irena will support and promote globally.”

Renewable energy versus oil products

Working in a region where economies are largely supported by oil, would this pose a threat to her campaign to phase out oil and its hydrocarbon products?

“Definitely our current source of energy, oil, will not be around for many more years. We should make sure this money can also be used to finance the next generation of clean energy,” Pelosse said.

“Climate change is a global fight. Let’s be serious for a second and compare it to what’s happening with oil. Can you say right now there are no subsidies for oil? No. There are energy sources we prefer because they are clean and climate-friendly, but they are not competing in a level playing field.... We have to phase-out subsidies for oil,” she added.

Abu Dhabi triumphed to host the Irena office after a hard-fought campaign, edging out rival competing cities including Bonn and Vienna. At a summit held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, delegates drawn from 136 member states voted Abu Dhabi the host city.

Bonn and Vienna will however, each house a satellite centre for the agency. Vienna will host a liaison office to help Irena co-ordinate policy with other international organisations in Europe, while Bonn will host an innovation centre to help the body’s work in developing countries.

Irena offices are currently housed at the Abu Dhabi’s Chamber of Commerce building, but will eventually relocate to Masdar City, on the outskirts of the emirate.