The Nexus of Technology and Sustainable Energy Tapuwa Dangarembizi's Innovati...
Energy Covering letter
1. Throughout my professional career, I always worked hard to promote public
awareness in renewable energy resources on both national and international levels. It
has always been a strong motivation for me to direct, promote and coordinate nature
conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. This was particularly true as
I'm the Executive Director (technical and administrative) of Jordan Environment
Society (JES) for eight years now, which is the largest environmental NGO in Jordan
with 15 branches and more than 8000 members. But this is also true when I
established the recycling program at JES since 1995, which aims to educate the public
about recycling, while creating a system through which interested citizens can
participate. As the primary producers of solid waste, individual citizens must be
involved in the implementation of waste management solutions. Therefore, it is
essential to introduce the concept of solid waste separation to the public through
public awareness campaigns. I was also the manager of Reduction of Methane
Emissions and Utilization of Municipal Waste for Energy project, which was funded
by UNDP/GEF, DANIDA and the Government of Jordan. The project was
implemented by both UNDP (GEF implementing agency) and Municipality of
Amman & National Electric Power Company (Government implementing agencies).
The Government of Jordan through the Ministry of Planning executes the project. The
goal of the project is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in Jordan by
substituting fossil fuels with bio-energy (methane gas and electricity), produced from
anaerobic digestion of industrial and municipal waste in Amman. Additional
greenhouse gas reduction will be achieved by reducing the uncontrolled release of
methane from improperly disposed organic waste in a large landfill. The project
combines methane emission reduction and thus greenhouse gases reduction, with
production of electricity, thus helping to reduce Jordan’s dependency on oil.
I also worked as a researcher at Jordan University of Science and Technology while
pursuing my master's degree in the Renewable Energy Sciences through my
specialization in Applied Mechanics focusing of Renewable Energy and Energy
Conversion Systems.
I've got a certification in "Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Accredited
Professional" (LEED AP) from the US. Green Building Council which is an
internationally recognized green building certification, providing third-party
verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies
intended to improve performance in metrics such as energy savings, water efficiency,
CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of
resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
At this time, I'm working _among others_ on the preparation of Jordan Green
Building Guide to be soon adopted and implemented. Preparation committee
members were carefully chosen to include professionals from well-known and
strongly contributing organizations, by Jordan Ministry of Housing and Public Works.
I am aware that the use of renewable energy resources and solar power in particular is
really prominent in some areas, where hydropower or photovoltaic power generation
are the only ways to supply people with electricity. Some areas of Jordan don’t have
electricity and it’s hard to connect them to the power grid, especially the really remote
villages. So with photovoltaic energy it is possible to create a power system for these
2. villages so they can generate enough electricity to supply them with lighting and other
basic energy needs. These systems are fully self-sufficient and actually quite easy to
install. I would like to use my experience, partnership, skills to improve this to a
maximum by eliminating the limitations that currently exist.
Jordan has a lot of potential for generating solar energy; the weather conditions are
convenient. A great number of research projects are focusing on solar energy
applications like solar sails or solar thermal energy generation. The use of Solar
Thermal Power will directly contribute in the reduction of emissions of greenhouse
gases resulting from using the fossil fuel which eventually cause climate change.
As my CV indicates, throughout my professional career, I always held highly
responsible managerial positions with a lot of staff and large budget under my
supervision (e.g. Reduction of Methane Emissions and Utilization of Municipal Waste
for Energy). Furthermore many times it was required to develop new programs
(Recycling Program at JES, the establishment of Jordan Green Council Building),
new divisions (e.g. training and capacity building unit at JES) and therefore did my
best to meet the expectations. This is what I would plan to do also after taking this
training course, if the trust is put in me, as I'm planning to launch my own business in
this field through JES and its branches.
My professional career has been a mixture of national and international jobs in
various areas, which gave me a mixture of experience. I strongly believe that a
vertical, horizontal and functional rotation can greatly enrich one’s knowledge and
experience.