The energy sector plays a major role in Egypt's economic development. Egypt has various forms of conventional energy resources such as petroleum, hydropower, and coal. Petroleum includes crude oil and natural gas. The primary energy resources and production in Egypt are shown in Figure 4.1. It is clear that crude oil represents about 53% of the country's primary energy resources. Since the construction of the High Dam in Aswan, hydropower in the form of electricity has been considered an important source of energy. It accounts for a share of about 5% in these primary resources. Natural gas accounts for about 42% of these resources (NREA, 2002).

Fig. 4.1: Primary energy resources and production in Egypt (OECP, 2002)

Due to the vital role played by the energy sector, energy demand has increased tremendously to satisfy the technological needs and the development of life styles in Egypt. The demand for energy is increasing directly in line with the increase in population. From the data presented in Figure 4.2 it can be observed that crude oil represents the major part of energy consumption in Egypt with 50.6%. On the other hand, primary production of coal accounts for only 11% of the national consumption of this resource.

Fig. 4.2: The consumption of primary energy in Egypt (OECP, 2002)

If the energetically usable crop residues are well formed as a biofuel for domestic purposes in Egypt's rural areas, they can contribute about 5.4 % to primary energy consumption in Egypt.

The sectoral energy consumption in Egypt is summarized in Figure 4.3. Because of industrial development, the industrial sector accounts for about 46% of energy consumption in Egypt (OECP, 2002).

Fig. 4.3: Sectoral consumption of primary energy in Egypt (OECP, 2002)

It is clear that protection and preservation of the environment is one of the most important issues for all scientists. The concern is naturally to minimise the adverse impacts of energy production and use on the environment. The fuels which increase the concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are petroleum products, natural gas, and coal. Production, transportation, and processing the fuels all contribute to CO₂ emissions.

As a result of the national population growth fuelling a rise in energy consumption, the CO₂ emission has increased to reach about 94 million tons in 1999. This value is about 25% up on the CO₂ emissions in 1990. The CO₂emission curve is shown in Figure 4.4.

Fig. 4.4: Development of CO₂ emissions in Egypt (OECP, 1998)

Located in North Africa, Egypt has an area of about one million square kilometres. The country also has a large and rapidly increasing population. According to the last census in 1996, the population was 59 million inhabitants (CAPMAS, 1997). In the year 1999 the Egyptian population was estimated at 63 million inhabitants (MALR, 2000). The inhabited area along the River Nile in the delta and along the northern coast represents only about 5% of the total area of the country. This percentage results in an average population density of 1217 persons per square kilometre with an average annual growth rate of 2.1%. This makes Egypt number four in the list of the countries with the highest rural population density in the world, following Puerto Rico, Oman and Sri Lanka (The World Bank, 2002). As a direct effect of this growth in population, energy consumption has increased too.

The rural population consumes energy from commercial and non-commercial sources. The Egyptian rural areas depend upon biomass resources to meet 50% of their energy needs. Biomass resources are currently used inefficiently due to the poor technology applied, such as direct combustion in open fire stoves in villages. Kerosene and electricity, liquid petroleum and gases are also available to a large extent.

Energy consumption patterns in rural areas are affected by several factors, the most important being:

• Education level

• Per capita income

• Cultural behaviour

• Availability of different energy sources

• Energy pricing and subsidies on different types of fuels (World Energy Council, 2003).

Rural electrification has been a major government initiative in the last 30 years. The rural Electrification Authority was established in 1971 with a mandate to electrify all areas across Egypt except Cairo and Alexandria. In 1994 all schools and clinics had access to electricity, as did 95% of all households. The Egyptian government planned to use access to electricity for land reclamation. A grid supplying electricity to about 5.6x10⁵ ha of arable land is planned to increase agricultural productivity. This provides new job opportunities, maximises the output of agro- industrial projects, and stems migration to large cities.

The annual electricity consumption in El Menoufiya governorate, which is considered as one of the most famous agricultural governorates in Egypt, is 303 kWh/capita. The average household size in the El Menoufiya governorate is about 4.8 persons. Thus the average annual consumption of electricity is about 1455 kWh per household. It costs about 120 LE per year. This electricity is mainly consumed for lighting and water heating, especially in winter, because of the shortage of gas cylinders distribution in the villages (CAPMAS, 1997; IDSC, 1999).

According to the census of 1996 Egypt's rural population reached about 33.8 million. On the other hand, annual crop residue production is about 16 million tons (MALR, 2002). This means that rural families can obtain about 2.27 tons of residues per year. This amount has an average heating value of 38 GJ per year, which is 27 % higher than its annual energy level for domestic purposes (cooking and baking). This access of energy can be used to sustain small industries such as crop drying or heating in the poultry sector.