Algeria wants to be producing as much electricity in 20 years' time from new and renewable energy sources as it currently produces from gas, according to a statement by the president on December 5th. Mr Bouteflika instructed the government to prepare a "genuine national development plan" for new and renewable energy that would enable the goal to be attained. The next day, the energy and mining minister, Youcef Yousfi, said that the ministry will present an "extremely ambitious" renewable energy plan to the government "in a few weeks". The plan will cover solar, wind and geothermal energy, said Mr Yousfi, quoted on the state news agency, Algérie Presse Service.

The target is ambitious, and Mr Yousfi admitted that it would be a "huge challenge". But there is no doubt that the government is serious about its renewable energy agenda. Gas output has fallen in 2010, and the combination of new export infrastructure due to come on stream between 2011-14, rapidly rising domestic electricity demand and sluggish progress in oil and gas exploration means that Algeria is in need of alternative sources of power supply. There is also a strong lobby within the government that argues that rather than maximising gas output, the government should be managing output in order to ensure the preservation of oil and gas resources for as long as possible. Mr Yousfi said at the end of November that the government planned to intensify oil and gas exploration, but that the aim was to guarantee the country's energy security "in the very long term".

Algeria may also choose to export renewable energy to Europe in the longer term. Europe's energy strategy is geared to increasing the proportion of alternative sources in its own energy mix and it sees Algeria and other countries in the south and east Mediterranean as potential sources of supply. Speaking at a meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum on December 2nd, Mr Yousfi said that Europe's renewable and nuclear energy drive meant that the vision for gas demand in Europe, Algeria's largest export market, was "frankly not very clear". At a meeting with Mr Bouteflika in Berlin on December 8th, the German president, Angela Merkel, said that Germany wishes to "co-operate more closely" with Algeria on solar and renewable energy, and gave her backing to the Desertec programme, a multi-billion-dollar scheme to supply 15% of Europe's electricity demand from solar and thermal power facilities across the Sahara by 2050 (December 2009, Economic performance). But the Algerian government is committed to increasing the role of local companies in the economy and has shown a reluctance to contemplate the involvement of foreign firms in the ownership of the proposed plants. The government's renewable targets will be facilitated by the creation of an institute of renewable energy in Hassi R'Mel to support skills development in the sector, according to a cabinet message. The government will also encourage the development of Algeria's own design and manufacturing capabilities, including the construction of turbines, said Mr Yousfi.