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1. Singapore, 06th August 2012 – 2nd Biomass West & Central Africa Congress 2012 will be convened in Accra, Ghana from 04th to 05th October 2012. This premier networking and content-driven congress will gather key representatives from both the Regional Government Authorities & Industry stakeholders from forestry, wood pellets, wood chips, agri based biomass and bioenergy power generation.

2. Given the urgency of not only the European countries to meet the compulsory renewable energy demands of 20% by 2020 but also countries in West & Central Africa. Ghana has tabled a Renewable Energy Bill with the goal of accelerating the uptake & integration of renewable energy into the national energy mix to enable the attainment of 20% RE mix by 2020.

3. West and Central Africa region with its vast and diverse forestry landscape offers a lucrative business opportunity for biomass & bioenergy trading and investments.

4. This congress will address critical issues on new regulatory and legal frameworks to promote biomass & bioenergy in ECOWAS, latest developments in feed-in tariffs and initiatives towards bio-energy policies, Biomass renewables from maize, rice & meal, deployable bioenergy options, current options in biomass technology, rural electrification and logistics, handling and transportation of bio products will also be discussed.

5. The congress Speakers are drawn from both government and private industry stakeholders from Republic of Ghana, UK, Mali, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Cape Verde, France, D.R. Congo, Nigeria, USA, Finland and Energy Regulators from: Senegal, Gambia, Liberia,Togo, Gabon, Congo, Niger.

6. Distinguished panel of speakers include top representatives from ECOWAS Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), Africa Renewables, ANADEB (National Agency for the Development of Bio-Fuels), Association for Research and Promotion of Sustainable Energy in Central Africa (ARPEDAC), Autorité de Régulation du Sous-secteur de l´Electricité (ARSE), Cresco Project Finance, Enercap, Energy Commission of Ghana, Institut supérieur des techniques appliqués (ISTA), National Centre for Energy & Environment (NCEE), Sustainable Energy Department, World Bank, UNDP/ Bank of Industry, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy, Equatorial Guinea, Energy Commission of Nigeria, PEAC (Central Africa Power Pool), Forestry Commission of Central Africa

7. The CEO of the conference organizing company, Magenta Global Pte Ltd, Singapore, Ms Maggie Tan, said: “Pivotal to Africa energy security and independence is the development of a sustainable biomass & biofuel strategy. The West & Central African countries have high biomass potential & biofuel production capacity. Policies are being put in place to develop a sustainable bioenergy industry. We invite all Agricultural & Energy investors from both government and industry to join us at this Congress to discuss project opportunities in the production or value addition in the biomass & biofuel supply chain”

8. This Congress is organized by Singapore-based Magenta Global with the support of ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE)

9. The Congress proceedings will be in both French & English & will be hosted at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana Magenta Global Pte Ltd Mediа