Macau advised to embrace wind energy

“Macau can learn from the Indian technologies on that field, exchange and keep in touch with us,” he said. Along the same line, Pogaku Ravindra, professor of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering from the University Malaysia Sabah, advocates that renewable energies are the future of the next generations.

Macau, he continued, is heading the right way as it has shown interest in becoming greener. Pogaku Ravindra said wind energy and biodiesel are the Territory’s best options. When asked about its limited land to implement wind turbines, he said the dimension of Macau does not matter.

“Singapore has it and it is smaller than Macau,” he stressed. While Prafulla Pant said that solar energy is not suitable for Macau, another expert disagreed.

Director of the Center for Energy and Transportation Research of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Igor Tomberg said that Macau should envisage both the sun and wind farm options.

“I hope Macau will become greener because it does not have too many natural resources and China is not very rich also,” he stressed.

According to the expert, Macau is well prepared to become greener but there remain some challenges, mainly related to the technologies and the funds to acquire them.

Experts were speaking on the sidelines of the “International Forum on Green Energy”, that took place yesterday at the Venetian, as a part of the Macau International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF 2010), which ends today.

The seminar aimed at promoting green industry exchanges and co-operation in various regions such as the Mainland (particularly the Pan-Pearl River Delta region), the European Union (EU) and Macau. The event has further highlighted Macau’s role as a green industry co-operation service platform for the Mainland, EU and overseas regions.

Macau, also known as Macao, is one of the two special administrative regions of the People’s Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea in the east and south.

The territory has thriving industries such as textiles, electronics and toys, and a notable tourist and gambling industry. With a GDP per capita of US$59,451 in 2008, Macau is one of the richest cities in China and the world.

Macau was a Portuguese colony and both the first and last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999.

The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer.

Source: Alexandra Lages, Macau Daily Times, www.macaudailytimes.com.mo