INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY INITIATIVES

ISERST"s Social Sciences Division, with USAID technical assistance, will develop a database identifying Djibouti"s energy sources and socioeconomic needs and the renewable energy technologies capable of meeting these needs. The survey will be used to select sites for six prototypes (windmill water pumps, electric wind generation/refrigeration equipment, solar water desalination, photovoltaic water pumping, solar fish drying and smoking) and smaller projects meeting rural energy needs regarding potable water and fish preservation. A fully equipped wind/solar workshop will be built for ISERST"s Earth Sciences Division (ESD). ISERST personnel will be trained to fabricate, test, install, and monitor equipment and to evaluate prototypes regarding installation, operation, and maintenance performance and technical, environmental, and socioeconomic impact. Commensurate with available resources, GROD and ISERST will actively disseminate project results to potential public, private, and foreign users through seminars, internships, etc. USAID will assist GROD and ISERST to study and demonstrate energy conservation techniques such as modified building design, improved insulation/ventilation, and industrial controls. The ISERST/ESD workshop, designed and built by a U.S. contractor, will serve as a model of state-of-the-art conservation technology. Local personnel will be trained to fill all ISERST Energy Section positions. ISERST"s chief will take a one-month tour of LDC"s that have successfully conserved energy. Two senior GROD officials will observe energy policy/planning in other LDC"s, produce a report on ISERST"s renewable energy activities, and provide policy recommendations to the planned GROD National Energy Commission. Primary beneficiaries will be ISERST/ESD personnel, 11,000 people receiving potable water, and others targeted by demonstration projects.