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Two new German wind energy programmes to be located in Morocco and China are in the pipeline, with a possible third to follow in Egypt. These will be financed by the German federal research ministry (BMFT) from its budget for financial co-operation with developing countries, which is administered by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) of Frankfurt, the German development bank. The programmes will also substantially increase the proportion of the budget allocated to wind projects. Some DEM 45 million has been allocated to overseas wind projects by BMFT during the past 20 years.

The Moroccan programme is the most advanced. A preparatory study has been completed and is now being evaluated for a 3 MW wind project to be located at El Koudia Blanco in the Tetuan region. German backing of DEM 8.5 million will be made available towards the total project costs of DEM 10.5 million. The second programme, in China, will be larger, with 8-10 MW planned and German finance of around DEM 30 million. Several locations will be used but these have not been pinpointed. A consultant is to be appointed to carry out the initial study.

The Moroccan and Chinese programmes will be run on similar lines to a DEM 10.6 million small wind turbine project, begun in the mid 1980s and now almost at an end. This early programme, Small Wind Energy Converters in Developing Countries, was later dubbed Fuel Saver as the turbines were operated in parallel with existing isolated grids in order to save diesel fuel. A total of 49, 30 kW MAN Aeromann machines were installed in seven different countries: Argentina, Azores, China, Haiti, Cap Verde, Madeira and Mauritius. The programme was also financed by the Federal Research Ministry and administered by the KfW. A final report is now being prepared which should be ready by October and available from the Research Centre in Jülich.

According to Heinz Stephan Räde from Jülich, practical experience from the Fuel Saver project has shown that the technology installed at the chosen locations (with wind speeds of 7.5-8 m/second) is economic. However the necessary maintenance and repair work on the Aeromann was much higher than expected and had been under-estimated by the manufacturer and the utilities in the different countries operating the machines. In addition the 30 kW machines are now quite clearly outdated. The pending programmes in Morocco and China will use 250 kW-300 kW machines.

The German development bank, KfW, was established in 1948. With capital stock of DEM 1 billion, its responsibility lies in the field of economic policy such as the promotion of German industry. As a development bank it places loans and subsidies on behalf of the German government for projects in developing countries. It also has access to additional money from the German federal budget earmarked for financial co-operation. Under this budget, new investment projects in developing countries are promoted and the utilisation of existing facilities improved. The KfW appraises the eligibility of a project within the framework of development policy and co-operates as partner of developing countries in the preparation, implementation and commissioning of jointly financed projects and the training of local personnel.