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Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts
Series Editor
Alain Dollet

Energy Transition in
Metropolises, Rural
Areas and Deserts

Louis Boisgibault
Fahad Al Kabbani
First published 2020 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced,
stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers,
or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the
CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the
undermentioned address:

ISTE Ltd John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


27-37 St George’s Road 111 River Street
London SW19 4EU Hoboken, NJ 07030
UK USA

www.iste.co.uk www.wiley.com

© ISTE Ltd 2020


The rights of Louis Boisgibault and Fahad Al Kabbani to be identified as the authors of this work have
been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019951913

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data


A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78630-499-5
Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

List of Acronyms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Chapter 1. Three Types of Space for Analyzing Energy Transition . 1


1.1. From energy-to-energy transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2. Presentation of the six research areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3. The importance of climates in the energy transition . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4. Energy sectors analyzed by field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter 2. Energy Transition in Metropolises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17


2.1. Energy characteristics in metropolises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2. The example of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.2.1. Presentation of Riyadh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.2.2. Development, construction and housing of Riyadh . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.2.3. Transport from Riyadh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.2.4. Riyadh’s challenges for energy transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.3. The example of the European Metropolis of Lille in France . . . . . . . 63
2.3.1. Presentation of the European Metropolis of Lille . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.3.2. Development, construction and housing of the
European Metropolis of Lille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
2.3.3. Transport of the European Metropolis of Lille . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
2.3.4. Challenges of the European Metropolis of Lille
for the energy transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
vi Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

2.4. Lessons learned from the energy transition in metropolises . . . . . . . 92


2.4.1. Priority to controlling energy consumption in metropolises . . . . . 95
2.4.2. Microproduction of energy in metropolises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
2.4.3. Peripheral power generation units and networks . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Chapter 3. The Energy Transition in Rural Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109


3.1. The characteristics of energy in rural areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
3.2. The example of Pays de Fayence in France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
3.2.1. Presentation of Pays de Fayence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
3.2.2. Development of the Pays de Fayence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
3.2.3. Transport in the Pays de Fayence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
3.2.4. Challenges of the Pays de Fayence for the energy transition . . . . 132
3.3. The example of Bokhol in Senegal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
3.3.1. Presentation of Bokhol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
3.3.2. Development of the Bokhol site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
3.3.3. Bokhol’s challenges for the energy transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
3.4. Lessons learned from the energy transition in rural areas . . . . . . . . . 158
3.4.1. Dynamics of positive energy territories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
3.4.2. Complex regulations and rurality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
3.4.3. Landscapes and rurality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Chapter 4. The Energy Transition in the Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171


4.1. The characteristics of energy in the desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
4.2. The example of Ouarzazate in Morocco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
4.2.1. Presentation of Ouarzazate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
4.2.2. Spatial planning in Ouarzazate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
4.2.3. Ouarzazate’s challenges for the energy transition . . . . . . . . . . . 186
4.3. The example of Neom in Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
4.3.1. Neom’s presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
4.3.2. Development of the Neom project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
4.3.3. Neom’s challenges for the energy transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
4.4. Lessons learned from the energy transition in the desert . . . . . . . . . 200

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Foreword

“Think global, act local” for an ecological transition in the service of man
and therefore of the planet, such was the major challenge of the 20th Century
which, to paraphrase André Malraux, French novelist and Minister of
Cultural Affairs, was “to be of ecology or not to be”.

The global dimension is widely recognized in practice. After the warning


issued by the Club of Rome in 1960, the Stockholm Conference in 1972
inaugurated the various earth summits, which have been held every 10 years
since then (Nairobi in 1982, Rio in 1992, Johannesburg in 2002, Rio in
2012). Since 1995, the “Conferences of the Parties” have brought together
diplomats and experts on climate change every year. Thus, COP21 in Paris
in 2015 reached an agreement to fight global warming.

The many international meetings over more than half a century have
enabled experts from all over the world to reflect and propose further growth
that is more respectful of the environment and the dignity of human beings,
but also, through a wealth of literature, for academics from all continents to
exchange, discuss and debate on sustainable development.

On the other hand, the local dimension is less studied. More than ideas, it
is the actions that must be observed, analyzed and evaluated. From this point
of view, the book written by my two former PhD students is very timely.
The approach, far from being dogmatic, is first and foremost practical and
empirical. This work is the result of many months of investigation by the
authors on the different fields they studied. However, the choice of these
territories allows them to have a fairly universal view of the issue: developed
countries (France), developing countries (Senegal and Morocco), emerging
viii Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

countries (Saudi Arabia), metropolises (Lille and Riyadh) and rural areas
(Pays de Fayence), temperate zones and deserts. All the cases encountered at
the local level were perceived by the two authors who complement each
other admirably in their research. Moreover, the cultural dimension has not
been forgotten, even if it is reduced to well-chosen examples.

It is with great satisfaction that I write this foreword, as, having been a
thesis supervisor, it is comforting to see that two of my most brilliant
students have joined forces to tackle this vast subject essential for the future
of the world, the ecological transition. I hope that this book will meet with
the success it deserves, because it provides an innovative and precise insight
into “local action”, without which the ecological transition cannot be
achieved.

Jean GIRARDON
Professor Emeritus
Sorbonne Université
Preface

This book analyzes how the energy transition can be carried out in three
types of areas: metropolitan areas, rural areas and deserts. It is based on
research carried out in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Lille (France) for
metropolitan areas; in the Pays de Fayence (France) and Bokhol (Senegal)
for rural areas; in the deserts of the Sahara (Ouarzazate) and Arabia. The
challenges of the energy transition are studied taking into account the
constraints of each type of space, the projects carried out and technological
innovations. How best to combine large connected power plants, production
systems for self-consumption, and energy efficiency with energy
transmission and distribution networks that must become intelligent? Should
spatial planning be organized on the basis of objectives and decisions taken
at supranational level (COP21, major directives) or should local initiative be
encouraged, depending on the resources instantly available? Lessons are
drawn from the fields studied to provide objectives and solutions for
Europe, the Middle East and the African region in order to move from
carbonaceous energy resources (oil, natural gas and coal) and nuclear to
renewable energies without opposing the energy sectors. This book is
illustrated with photos and color maps.

The two co-authors, of French and Saudi origin, met in mid-2010 in the
Geography and Planning Research Laboratory of the Université Paris-
Sorbonne (Paris IV). The Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV) became
Sorbonne Université on January 1, 2018 through its merger with the
Université Pierre et Marie Curie. This laboratory was known as the Spaces,
Nature and Culture (ENEC), Joint Research Unit Sorbonne Université /
French centre for scientific research and has itself evolved as part of this
merger. The co-authors conducted their doctoral research with the same
x Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

thesis supervisor, Jean Girardon, Professor Emeritus at Sorbonne Université.


Jean Girardon is known for his academic work on spatial planning, for his
local action as mayor of the rural community of 333 inhabitants of Mont-
Saint-Vincent, in the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region and as elected board
member to the Association of Mayors of France. The co-authors’ research
theses on the energy transition were defended and validated, respectively, in
2016 and 2017. As the research fields are very complementary, it was
decided to pool the work here.

This interdisciplinary four-chapter book is therefore not simply a


compilation of scientific articles, as is most often the case in the academic
world. It aims to have a certain unity of style and form to increase its impact
and simply explain, in a pedagogical way, complex transitions. It gathers a
wider audience than a thesis jury to address students, elected officials,
professionals and an informed general public and involves citizens in
debates on the energy transition, in an educational way, in the broadest
possible geography.

Louis BOISGIBAULT
Fahad AL KABBANI
October 2019
Acknowledgments

The initial research results and figures have been updated for this book.
The dialog was resumed with the key players of the fields studied in Riyadh,
Lille, Fayence and Ouarzazate. For Bokhol and the Arabian Desert, as the
projects accelerated considerably from 2016 onwards, it was necessary to
conduct a press review and contact stakeholders to request additional
information and photos. This information was cross-referenced to obtain the
most accurate information possible, analyze the issues, make relevant
comparisons of local actions and find appropriate solutions. Warm thanks
are first addressed to all the key players in these six fields, who were asked
right up to the last minute, for the documents they have authorized us to
publish here.

The co-authors are now on postdoctoral trips together to get to know the
colleague’s fields and to continue to promote their research. All this would
not have been possible without the support of the professors of Sorbonne
Université and in particular Dr. Jean Girardon, who agreed to write the
foreword to the book, teachers from other institutions, university and
municipal libraries and families.

Sincere thanks are addressed to all those relatives who cannot be named
individually for fear of forgetting them.
List of Acronyms

ADA Arriyadh Development Authority

AEME Agence pour l’économie et la maîtrise de l’énergie du


Sénégal [National Energy Efficiency Agency of Senegal]

AFD Agence Française de Développement [French development


agency]

AMEE Agence marocaine pour l’efficacité énergétique [Moroccan


Agency for Energy Efficiency]

ANER Agence nationale pour les énergies renouvelables du


Sénégal [Sengalese National Agency for Renewable
Energies]

ARAMCO Arabian American Oil Company

BOAD Banque Ouest Africaine de Dévelopment [West African


Development Bank]

BTP Bâtiments et travaux publics [Buildings and public works]

CH4 Methane (four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom)

CIGS Copper indium gallium selenium

CNGV Compressed natural gas vehicle


xiv Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

COP Conference of the Parties

CO2 Carbon dioxide

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States (15 countries)

ECRA Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (Saudi


Arabia)

EEC European Economic Community

EMEA Europe, Middle East, Africa

ENEDIS Réseau public de distribution d’électricité (France) [Public


electricity distribution network (France)]

EPCI Établissement public de coopération intercommunale


(France) [Public institution for intermunicipal cooperation
(France)]

EPD Energy performance diagnostics

FDI Foreign direct investment

GACA General Authority of Civil Aviation

GCC Gulf Cooperation Council

GDP Gross domestic product

GEF Global Environment Facility

GHG Greenhouse gases

GNP Gross national product

GT Gigaton

GW Gigawatt (1,000 MW)

HDI Human development index


List of Acronyms xv

HP Heat pump

HT/MT High voltage/medium voltage

IEA International Energy Agency

INDC Intended Nationally Determined Contribution

INSEE Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques


(France) [French National Institute for Statistics and
Economic Studies]

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency

KACARE King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy

kV Kilovolt

kW Kilowatt (1,000 watts)

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

LNG Liquefied natural gas

LPG Liquefied petroleum gas

MASEN Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy

MEL Métropole européenne de Lille [European metropolis of


Lille]

MW Megawatt (1,000 KW)

NBIC Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information technology,


Cognitive science

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries


xvi Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

PACA Region Sud, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (France)

PETS Pumped Energy Transfer Stations

PIF Public Investment Fund (Saudi Arabia)

PLU Plan local d’urbanisme [Local urban planning]

PLUI Plan local d’urbanisme intercommunal [Local intermunicipal


urban planning]

PPP Purchasing power parity

PPP Public–private partnership

PPM Part per million

PVD Pays en voie de développement [Developing countries]

REPDO Renewable Energy Project Development Office (Saudi


Arabia)

RNEs Renewable energies

SAMA Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency

SAR Saudi Railway Company

SCOT Schéma de cohérence territoriale [French Territorial


Coherence Scheme]

SEC Saudi Electricity Company

SMB Small and medium businesses

SME Small and medium-sized enterprises

SPA Saudi Press Agency

SPPA Saudi Public Pension Agency


List of Acronyms xvii

SRADDET Schéma régional d’aménagement, de développement


durable et d’égalité des territoires [Regional Plan for
Spatial Planning, Sustainable Development and Equality of
Territories]

SRO Saudi Railway Organization

TOE Ton of oil equivalent

TWh Terawatt hour

UAE United Arab Emirates

UEMOA West African Economic and Monetary Union (eight


countries)

WTI West Texas Intermediate

WTO World Trade Organization


1

Three Types of Space for


Analyzing Energy Transition

1.1. From energy-to-energy transition

The word energy comes from the ancient Greek, energia, the force in
action. The dictionary characterizes it as a physical system, keeping the same
value during all internal transformations of the system (conservation law)
and expressing its ability to modify the state of other systems with which it
interacts. The units used in the international energy system are the joule (J),
the Watt-hour (Wh) and the ton of oil equivalent (TOE) due to the economic
and political significance of oil.

Energy sources can come from raw materials (Vidal 2017) such as
hydrocarbons (crude oil, natural gas and coal), uranium or natural
phenomena such as wind, sun, hot springs, organic matter fermentation, tides
and marine currents. These sources can be primary, i.e. directly from nature
such as wood, hydrocarbons, uranium, organic waste or secondary, i.e. from
human transformation such as electricity and gasoline. The energies used by
mankind have evolved over the centuries in different transitions due to the
discovery of new raw materials, the domestication of natural phenomena and
technological progress. The final energy is that which is delivered to and
consumed and paid for by the inhabitant.

Why are these definitions already an issue? Because it is necessary to


count energy to see the evolution of production and consumption in
metropolitan areas, rural areas and deserts. Energy metering is always
tedious, but it is essential to establish a diagnosis that then makes it possible

Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts,


First Edition. Louis Boisgibault and Fahad Al Kabbani.
© ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

to prepare an action plan, with more or less significant investments. We are


confronted with the difficulty of knowing whether we are thinking in terms
of primary energy or final energy and how to compare 1 liter of fuel oil with
1 kWh of wind energy. Statistics have been compiled in TOE since 1972. In
France, for electricity, 1 MWh was equivalent to 0.222 TOE, which
corresponded to an average efficiency of 38.7% for a thermal power plant
(43.7% − 5% loss during distribution). This affects a primary energy
conversion factor of 2.58 (1/0.387) per kWh in the energy balances.

The first problem is that thermal power plants have lost market share to
nuclear and renewable energies since 1972 and that the nuclear power plant
has a better load factor than the photovoltaic plant. The load factor is the
operating factor of a power plant. It is the ratio between the electrical energy
actually produced over a given period and the energy it would have
produced if it had operated at its maximum power during the same period.
However, the photovoltaic plant does not produce at night. The International
Energy Agency standardized the conversion by specifying that nuclear MWh
was equivalent to 0.2606 TOE and renewable MWh was equivalent to 0.086
TOE in primary energy balances.

The second problem is that fossil fuels do not undergo any increase in
coefficient. If a thermal regulation requires each new dwelling built to
consume less than 50 kWh of primary energy per square meter per year, this
implies that the electrical dwelling will be penalized by this coefficient
compared to the fossil dwelling, whereas it emits less than CO2/m2/year.

The question today is whether primary energy is an appropriate criterion


for regulating energy use and which primary energy conversion coefficient
to use. The final energy makes it possible to link regulation with bills the
consumer receives.

The energy transition is not new in itself. It is considered to reflect the


gradual abandonment of some energies in conjunction with the development
of others. One might think that this is due to the arrival of new energies
driven by innovation. In fact, wind, water and sun energies have always
existed. Humanity has experienced various energy transitions. First, the
domestication of fire by prehistoric man, 70,000 years ago in Africa, made it
possible to control heat. The creation of tools, in the Bronze Age, may have
been facilitated by this heat, which is a transition. Since the Middle Ages,
Europeans have built windmills, river water mills and tidal mills
Three Types of Space for Analyzing Energy Transition 3

(Woessner 2014) along the Atlantic coast, the English Channel and the
North Sea. There are examples of these mills, which use the tides to operate,
on Île de Bréhat, Île Arz, Arzon, Trégastel and Pont-Aven in France but also
in Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and Belgium.

For hydrocarbons, coal mining took on an industrial dimension in the


18th Century. The invention of the steam engine by the Scotsman James
Watt, before the French Revolution, was a major event since an external
combustion engine transformed the thermal energy of the water vapor
produced by a boiler into mechanical energy. This allowed a revolution with
the arrival of the steam locomotive and a new energy transition. In 1859,
when Colonel Edwin Drake first operated an oil well in Titusville,
Pennsylvania, and 20 years later Thomas Edison invented the electric light
bulb, one of the most important energy transitions occurred as oil and
electricity replaced existing fuels. At the beginning of the 20th Century,
electricity and city gas arrived in homes, which was another important
energy transition, replacing the kerosene lamp, coal stove and wood fire.

Coal mining was the driving force behind the industrial revolution of the
19th Century. Its extraction, through underground or open-air galleries, is an
essential economic activity that has marked the history of the research field
in the north of France chosen for this project, but also the European Union
and the world in general. Several techniques are used. The room and pillar
method consists of manually digging, consolidating the coal vein and its
ceiling by installing pillars that form underground chambers and galleries.
The long method consists of drilling the coal vein with a cutting machine
and recovering the ore by letting the ceiling collapse. The coal is then
brought to the surface, once by humans or animals, then by conveyors and
wagons, to be treated by immersing it in an appropriate liquid. Opencast
mining is more profitable and is carried out using giant excavators. The
treated coal is then transported to the consumption sites by road or ship.

Oil and gas exploration and production were later carried out in the 20th
Century. The discovery and exploitation of deposits has created a value
chain from upstream to downstream. The crude oil and natural gas extracted
only make sense if they are properly processed and transported to
consumption areas. A disconnection took place between production areas
(desert areas, rural areas in emerging countries, offshore) and consumer
areas (metropolitan areas and rurality in developed countries) and major
battles have been fought for access to springs (Chevalier 2004). The research
4 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

sites in Saudi Arabia selected for this project have been disrupted by this
industry.

The downstream oil sector includes oil refining, i.e. the transformation of
crude oil from offshore fields into finished products (such as gasoline, diesel,
fuel oil and bitumen) and distribution. Distribution consists of storing
finished products, transporting them and organizing marketing to the end
customer. Generally speaking, crude oil is transported by ship or pipeline
from the production sites to the refineries. The pipeline requires significant
infrastructure investment. Its destination cannot be changed once the
construction is completed.

For natural gas, the logic is similar to the processing of extracted natural
gas and its transport. Its transport is more difficult than oil. It is carried out in
gaseous form by gas pipelines and in liquid form by LNG carriers. The
majors were less interested in natural gas fields because molecules were less
profitable to transport, especially when the field was small. The plants,
located near the extraction sites, were built to liquefy natural gas at −160°C
so that it would lose 600 times its volume. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is
loaded onto the LNG carriers and transported to other plants, which regasify
and odorize it so that it can be injected into the transmission and distribution
networks.

The civil nuclear sector has developed well since the 1970s. Its value
chain extends from uranium mining and transportation, particularly from
Niger, to the construction of nuclear power plants, the manufacture and
reprocessing of fuel and the conditioning of radioactive waste. The European
and Saudi Arabian research sites selected for the book are heavily impacted
by this sector, with the commissioning of reactors in northern France in the
1980s and the construction of new reactors in Saudi Arabia, i.e. with a
40-year delay.

Everyone is aware of the crucial importance of innovation in the energy


sector and in the energy transition. How do new technologies, including
nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, information technology and cognitive
science (NBIC), affect the energy transition? How can we preserve the
planet’s non-renewable stocks of hydrocarbons and uranium by better
exploiting the flows of sun, wind, rivers, tides, currents and waste?
Three Types of Space for Analyzing Energy Transition 5

Nanotechnologies focus on objects at the molecular and atomic scale.


They affect the energy sector in many ways, for example, in the
manufacturing of photovoltaic cells. They are based on monocrystalline
silicon, polycrystalline silicon, thin films and organic substances. For
crystalline silicon, the silicon is melted and then gently cooled to obtain a
single homogeneous crystal (monocrystalline) or more quickly to obtain
multiple crystals (polycrystalline).

The crystal is cut into ingots to work at a scale of 200 µm and form
photovoltaic cells. For thin films, silicon is fixed in thin layers of only a few
micrometers on a glass or plastic support.

Other rare materials such as copper, indium, gallium, selenium and


cadmium telluride can be used. For organic photovoltaic cells, an active
layer is made up of organic molecules. Nanotechnologies miniaturize
equipment and increase its performance at a lower cost.

Biotechnology is defined by the OECD as “the application of science and


technology to living organisms, as well as its components, products and
modeling, to modify living or non-living materials for the production of
knowledge, goods and services”. They make it possible, for example, to
produce biofuels, organic products alternative to oil and gas from raw
materials, plant sugars and algae, which are transformed into finished
products and biogas using microorganisms. They also allow the treatment
and elimination of pollution.

New generation computing impacts data processing capacity, production


systems, microelectronics, energy system components, smart grids, data
transmission and blockchain.

Finally, the cognitive sciences aim to describe, explain and simulate the
mechanisms of animal and human thought. They model complex
information processing systems capable of acquiring, storing, using and
transmitting knowledge. This artificial intelligence helps to consume less
energy, to better appreciate local consumption to adjust production and to
preserve the planet’s limited and non-renewable hydrocarbon resources.

These NBICs are currently transforming the exploitation of stock energy


(hydrocarbon and nuclear), with their associated networks, and will allow
6 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

flow energy to become more competitive for the production of electricity,


heat, fuel and fuel.

Sectors Electricity Heat Combustible Fuel


Biofuel X
Biomass X X X X
Biomethane X X X X
Marine energies X
Wind turbine X
Geothermal energy X X
Hydropower X
Solar photovoltaic X
Thermal solar energy X
Thermodynamic
X X
solar energy

Table 1.1. Properties of renewable energies

Biofuel is an agrofuel produced from non-fossil organic materials,


vegetable oil (rapeseed, algae) or alcohol (sugar, starch). It is important for
metropolises and rural areas to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Biomass comes from organic matter of plant or animal origin in


solid/liquid form that can be used as an energy source. Its direct combustion
produces heat which, through cogeneration, can also produce electricity. The
fermentation of organic matter can produce biogas or biomethane (CH4). Its
chemical transformation by pyrolysis can produce fuel and biofuel. Wood
fire, which is the combustion of solid biomass, is the traditional means of
heating in all spaces. In metropolitan areas and rural areas, the challenge of
collecting, sorting, incinerating and recycling household waste is important
for producing recovered heat and electricity. A collective heating system can
be powered by organic waste and pallets, shreds and wood pellets, i.e.
biomass fuel of various kinds. Methanization units require more space and in
rural areas allow the use of manure and agricultural waste by fermentation to
produce biogas.

Marine energies are made up of six sectors, namely tidal energy, wave
energy, current energy, ocean thermal energy, osmotic energy and wind
Three Types of Space for Analyzing Energy Transition 7

energy (large offshore wind). The use of algae to produce biofuels that can
be used to power the internal combustion engine of vehicles is currently
being studied. These energies are still marginal in the global energy mix.
Their potential should not be underestimated as they can benefit coastal
areas. Do they benefit metropolitan areas, rural areas or deserts? We can
have metropolises, rural areas and deserts by the sea that benefit from this
electricity, which is repatriated to land by cable, and then fed into the grid or
possibly self-consumed.

Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical
energy, which is then most often transformed into electricity. This
mechanical energy has been used for centuries to grind grain in traditional
mills. It is transformed into electricity by modern horizontal and vertical axis
wind turbines. These wind turbines can be small for urban and rural
buildings. Others are very large, with a mast longer than 150 m, a nacelle for
mechanical components and a rotor to receive the blades. They can only be
installed in parks located far from residential areas.

Geothermal energy consists of exploiting the energy from the earth,


which is recovered by geothermal collectors, in the form of usable heat that
can potentially be converted into electricity. At low energy, the heat comes
from shallow depths and its temperature is not sufficient (5–10°C) to be used
directly for heating. A heat pump must be added to increase the temperature,
a popular feature in single-family homes in urban and rural areas. At
medium and high energy, heat drawn at a high temperature (from 50°C to
over 150°C) or at high depth (from 600 m to over 2,000 m), can be used
directly. It is suitable for certain urban areas, both for collective and tertiary
buildings, which are then supplied by a heating network. For higher
temperatures, often in volcanic areas, when the flow rate is sufficient, the
heat can be converted into electricity.

Hydraulics converts the movement of water into kinetic energy, which is


then most often transformed into electricity. This kinetic energy has been
used for centuries to grind grain in traditional water mills. It is located in
rural areas for small and large hydropower, although the electricity produced
by the turbines of the dams can then supply the cities.

Solar energy can take many forms. The French physicist Edmond
Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect in 1839. This is one of the
effects that is implemented in photovoltaic cells from solar radiation. It is
8 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

used to produce electricity. Solar thermal energy makes it possible to


produce heat and hot water from solar collectors. Concentrated
thermodynamic solar energy converts solar energy into heat at high
temperature and then converts it into electricity. The sun’s rays are
concentrated on a heat transfer fluid in several possible configurations and
heated to very high temperatures to produce heat. The four technological
fields are cylindro-parabolic mirrors, Fresnel mirrors, the solar tower and the
parabola stirling. Building integrated solar photovoltaics and solar thermal
can enable urban and rural buildings to produce electricity and heat. Solar
streetlamps can help with street lighting. Ground-based photovoltaic farms
can only be designed in large rural and desert areas. Concentrated
thermodynamic solar energy is intended for the desert.

The methods of evaluating energy systems and their importance are


beginning to be fully recognized (Lachal 2018). The concepts of energy and
technological systems, innovation, learning through use and feedback must
be analyzed from the perspective of the host territories.

1.2. Presentation of the six research areas

Metropolises: High population density per square kilometer

– Riyadh, capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:


- Member State of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries;
- Continent: Asia, Middle East.

– Lille, capital of the Hauts-de-France region, French Republic:


- Member State of the European Union;
- Continent: Western Europe.

Rurality: Low population density per square kilometer

– The Pays de Fayence, a community of communes in the Var department,


Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, French Republic:
- Member State of the European Union;
- Continent: Western Europe.
Three Types of Space for Analyzing Energy Transition 9

– Bokhol, rural commune in the Department of Dagana, Saint-Louis region,


Republic of Senegal:
- Member State of the African Union, the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union
(UEMOA);
- Continent: Sub-Saharan Africa.

Desert: Lack of population

– Ouarzazate, capital of the eponymous province, Kingdom of Morocco:


- Member State of the African Union and the Arab League;
- Continent: Africa, Sahara Desert, Maghreb.

– Neom, a futuristic border project in the northwestern Arabian desert,


Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:
- Member State of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries;
- Continent: Asia, Middle East.

Box 1.1. Characteristics of the six research areas

As Professor Jean Girardon (2018) explained in the preface, the terrains


fit together well, like a puzzle, to form a virtuous triangle of Europe, Middle
East, Africa (EMEA) instead of an initial vertical line of Europe, the
Mediterranean, Africa (Boisgibault 2016b) and Saudi Arabia studied in
isolation (Al Kabbani 2017). One could ask oneself at the outset why have
only these six territories been selected and not 10 or 20 others that are
complementary, selected with quantitative criteria? First of all, it should be
recalled that this is the disciplinary field of the human and social sciences
and not the hard sciences, which are very much involved in energy issues.
Qualitative methods, i.e. interpretative methods without figures, are
recognized. Then, these fields were validated by the respective thesis juries
because they are very instructive. The study in detail and in the duration of
local action as well as pragmatism were favored. The data collected are
important and choices had to be made to present the best summary here.

As for the methodology, it was based on a literature review, study tours,


field surveys, interviews with managers, mapping analyses, collection and
10 Ene
ergy Transition in
n Metropolises, Rural Areas an
nd Deserts

processiing of statisttical data, paarticipation in


i conferencces during thhe period
2011 too 2016, and then
t updatinng all its datta to present the most upp-to-date
results in
i 2019. Thee three typess of spaces – metropolitaan, rural and desert –
have emmerged, requuiring choicees to be mad de on the lannd presentedd and the
methodoology to be adapted
a in a pragmatic way.
w That is precisely
p thee heart of
the matter. In metroopolitan areaas, access is easy by planne, train andd car and
appointm ments can easily folloow one another with decision-mak
d kers and
universiity colleaguees. In rural areas, access is more difficult becaause it is
necessary to changee means of transport
t to get
g to the finnal destinatioon, most
often byy road, and thhere are fewwer people to talk to. Finaally, in the deesert, we
can talkk about real expeditions where there are no moree key playerrs on the
spot.

Whaat about the Americas, the Far Easst, Oceania, Antarctica and the
Southerrn Hemispheere? Despite not wanting g to exclude particular teerritories
from the energy traansition, choiices had to be
b made for reasons of ttime and
budget. Europe, the Middle Eastt and Africa are already a good placee to start
researchh.

earch fields1
Figure 1.1. Maps of rese

1 Map maade by the author.


Three Types of Space for Analyzing Energy Transition 11

Latitude Longitude Altitude (m)

Greenwich Meridian 0° 0

European metropolis
50° 37' N 3° 04' E 25
of Lille

Pays de Fayence 43° 37' N 6° 41' E 360

Ouarzazate (Sahara Desert) 30° 55' N 6° 54' W 1,100

Neom (Arabian Desert in


29° 7' N 35° 04' E 0 to 2,500
Tabuk)

Riyadh 24° 37' N 46° 42' E 600

Tropic of Cancer 23° 26' N – 0

Bokhol 16° 31' N 15° 24' W 10

Table 1.2. Geographical coordinates of the six study sites,


from north to south

By specifying the geographical coordinates of the six fields studied, this


makes it possible to better visualize the location and compare these
territories on the globe. The coordinates are derived from the WG 84
geodetic system (World Geodetic System 1984), which models the shape of
the earth into an ellipsoid of revolution around the north-south axis, slightly
flattened at the poles. Latitude has a much stronger influence on climate than
longitude. Climate and its temperatures are also influenced by altitude,
which directly affects people’s behavior in terms of food, heating and
cooling. All the examples are in the northern hemisphere. Bokhol is the only
one of the six fields to be south of the Tropic of Cancer, which is a parallel
whose position varies, at 23° 26' 12.555" on January 1, 2019. Senegal and
Ouarzazate are the two terrains west of the Greenwich meridian, the other
four being to the east, but these longitudes have no particular influence in the
analysis, except for the time difference. Since the Earth’s perimeter is about
40,000 km at the Earth’s equator and corresponds to 360° for longitude, 1º
represents about 111 km at the equator, 1 minute represents 1/60th of a
degree or about 1.8 km at the equator. It is an almost isosceles research
triangle, with two sides of 4,700 km between Europe–Africa and Europe–
Middle East, with a base of 6,400 km between West Africa and the Middle
East.
12 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

1.3. The importance of climates in the energy transition

Geographers insist on the heterogeneity of climates (Godard and Tabeaud


2009) on the surface of continents and oceans, on their spatial
discontinuities, on their seasonal rhythms and on their interannual
variabilities. The main measurable atmospheric parameters are defined and
characterized in their spatial distribution and seasonal variability. To
compare climates here, the scale of Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) was
used. It is based on precipitation and temperature and dates back to 1900,
with an update in 1961 by Rudolf Geiger, who explains that the climate map
is called Köppen–Geiger. The classification consists of three letters that
associate a climate code with a precipitation code and a temperature code.
The five possible codes for major climate families are as follows:
– A: tropical climate;
– B: dry conditions for Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Morocco;
– C: temperate climate for France;
– D: continental climate;
– E: polar climate.

In addition, there is a second letter for the rainfall regime with:


– W: very low desert rainfall for Ouarzazate and Saudi Arabia;
– S: dry season in summer for the French Riviera and Senegal;
– F: wet and rainfall every month of the year for Lille.

Other rainfall classifications, such as monsoon climates and heavy


rainfall, are not applicable to the selected sites.

The third letter finally specifies the amplitude of the annual temperature
cycle with:
– a: hot summer for the Côte d’Azur: average temperature of the hottest
month >22°C;
– b: temperate summer for Lille: average temperature of the hottest
month <22°C and average temperatures of the four hottest months >10°C;
– h: dry and hot for Senegal, Morocco and Saudi Arabia: average annual
temperature >18°C.
Three Types of Space for Analyzing Energy Transition 13

Other temperature variation classifications, such as very cold winters, are


not applicable to the selected sites.

This exercise shows that, for the land selected:


– not all terrestrial climates are covered, including tropical (A),
continental (D) and polar (E) climates;
– the desert climate of Ouarzazate is similar to that of Saudi Arabia
(BWh);
– the level of low rainfall in the Pays de Fayence is similar to that of
Bokhol in Senegal (S).

European metropolis of Lille (France) CFb

Pays de Fayence (France) Csa

Ouarzazate (Sahara Desert, Morocco) BWh

Neom (Saudi Arabian Desert) BWh

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) BWh

Bokhol (Senegal) BSh

Table 1.3. Climate in the selected areas according to the Köppen classification

Riyadh and the Sahara Desert, which are at the level of the Tropic that
crosses 18 countries, do not have a tropical climate for all, because of the
important continental mass.

The energy sector is heavily impacted by the climate, which conditions


living habits for housing, transport and industrial practices. Mastering
climate data makes it possible to better estimate the energy production
required to enable consumption. Good prediction of meteorological
variability has a direct influence on the supply–demand balance of
electricity, on the planning of plant maintenance operations and on the risks
associated with extreme weather events.

Similarly, the energy sector is a major emitter of greenhouse gases, due to


the very significant industrial installations in all components of the sector’s
value chains. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main gas, along with water vapour
(H2O), which is emitted. Its concentration in the atmosphere is measured by
14 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in particulate matter per


million (PPM) and exceeded 415 PPM at the end of March 2019, an increase
of 48% compared to 1,750 (280 PPM). This concentration inexorably
increases each year through new emissions and is insufficiently reduced by
the absorption of CO2 by the oceans and forests. The development of
urbanization tends to destroy these carbon sinks, which are important to
preserve. In addition to CO2, we must not forget the emissions of methane
(CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and about 40 other gases identified by the IPCC,
less concentrated in the atmosphere but sometimes more harmful.

In its “New Policies”2 scenario, the International Energy Agency


estimates that energy-related CO2 emissions will continue to increase until
2040. This trajectory is problematic in terms of meeting the commitments
made at COP21 for the Paris Climate Agreement. It is incompatible with
scientific recommendations to combat climate change and with the
commitment to stabilize global warming due to human activities below 2°C
by 2100 (compared to pre-industrial temperature) by strengthening efforts to
reach the 1.5°C target.

1.4. Energy sectors analyzed by field

The six selected sites have their own geographical characteristics and
have always used adapted energies. They are engaged in a process of energy
transition, each at its own scale, at its own speed, in its own way and with its
own constraints to manage.

Metropolises: Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and the European Metropolis of


Lille (France)
– Stock energy: Oil, gas, coal (hydrocarbons) and nuclear.
– Energy efficiency.
– Flow energies: Biofuels, biomass, biomethane (household waste
incineration), ocean energy, small wind, medium and high geothermal energy,
building integrated photovoltaic solar energy and solar thermal energy.
– Alternative fuels: NGV, electricity, hydrogen.
– Networks: Transport and distribution of oil, electricity, gas, heat and
cooling.

2 International Energy Agency (2018). World Energy Outlook.


Three Types of Space for Analyzing Energy Transition 15

Rurality: Pays de Fayence (France) and Bokhol (Senegal)


– Stock energy: Oil, gas, coal (hydrocarbons) and nuclear.
– Energy efficiency.
– Flow energies: Biofuel, biomass, biomethane, ocean energy, wind, low-
energy geothermal energy (heat pumps), hydropower, solar photovoltaic and
solar thermal.
– Alternative fuels: NGV.
– Networks: Electricity transmission and distribution.

Desert: Ouarzazate in the Sahara (Morocco) and Saudi Arabian desert


– Stock energy: Drilling of hydrocarbons and minerals.
– Flow energies: Biomass, wind, solar photovoltaic and solar thermodynamic
with concentration (parabolic trough mirrors, solar tower).
– Networks: Transport of hydrocarbons and electricity.

Box 1.2. Energy sectors studied by field

Not all energy sectors are studied in detail. The aim is to see which ones
are best suited to a given territory, to understand why sectors are not being
exploited more, to study examples of achievements, to analyze the
challenges in terms of energy transition for buildings, transport and industry
and to find solutions according to three types of space.
2

Energy Transition in Metropolises

2.1. Energy characteristics in metropolises

Metropolis is a word that comes from the ancient Greek: from Meter
(Metros in the genitive), the mother, and Polis, the city. It is a mother city,
already an administrative capital in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. In the
Christian world, metropolises were the largest cities that had a cathedral
where the Archbishop or Orthodox metropolitan was based. Metropolises are
large cities, in terms of area and population. They therefore have by
definition a high urban density and few spaces available. This term has been
chosen because it corresponds to the most important and complex urban
form, which has an outreach, influence and opportunities likely to attract an
ever-increasing population.

Dr. Gérard François Dumont warned in 1990 about the metropolization


process (Dumont 1994, 2012a, 2012b, 2015), which was becoming very
uneven. He then defined it as “the exercise of centripetal forces leading to
the concentration of men and activities”. He even wondered whether French
national officials were not confusing this process with an “ideology of
metropolization”.

The challenges of the inexorably growing metropolises are numerous.


They consist of continuously developing urban space to provide drinking
water, goods and services, mobility, employment, education, housing, roads,
sanitation, security, cleanliness, sports, tourism and cultural activities and, of
course, energy for residents, administrations and businesses. This transported
and consumed energy raises particular questions about its negative
externalities. It benefits the entire population, all residential, commercial and

Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts,


First Edition. Louis Boisgibault and Fahad Al Kabbani.
© ISTE Ltd 2020. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
18 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

public buildings to provide lighting, heating, ventilation, domestic hot water,


power for appliances and machines, mobility, shops and services, in other
words, everyday life and economic activity.

Originally, the energy was produced for immediate consumption on site,


in a short circuit that avoided storage and transportation. The development of
cities and metropolises has made it necessary to review this scheme. Energy
can hardly be produced on a large scale in cities and metropolises due to a
lack of space and relevant resources. Drilling underground, installing
refineries and building power plants require relevant underground
hydrocarbon reserves and available space. This creates risks for the
surrounding population. Over the centuries, energy production has been
dissociated from its places of consumption. Transport and energy
distribution have taken on a fundamental spatial dimension. However, when
we look at the map of metropolises, we see that there may be large units that
have been decommissioned, such as the Battersea coal-fired power plant in
London. This is due to the gradual growth of cities that have become
metropolises. They have gradually encompassed industrial districts and their
production units that were once peripheral.

Energy production has become one of the main sources of pollution and
greenhouse gas emissions on the planet. The International Energy Agency
reported that, in 2018, global energy-related CO2 emissions increased by
1.7% to 33 GT. Energy production has gradually been phased out of
metropolises. They must now import energy through the transport and
distribution networks, in solid, liquid, electron and molecular forms, into
homes, transport, businesses and administrations. But this transport of
energy also entails risks, negative externalities and losses that are
increasingly under control but are still subject to accidents, explosions and
leaks. Metropolises are obliged to focus on air quality, safety and the
purchasing power of their inhabitants. Energy efficiency is becoming
essential in metropolises because it makes it possible to reduce energy
consumption and therefore energy flows.

The questions to which an answer is sought are: how can a metropolis’


energy consumption be controlled and its greenhouse gas emissions
reduced? Does the metropolis have to import all its necessary energy, or can
it produce part of it on site? How can energy be imported and produced
locally in the best safety conditions and at an acceptable cost? What is the
best balance between traditional networks and local production in
Energy Transition in Metropolises 19

metropolises? Can so-called clean energies be sufficient for metropolises?


How can buildings, urban transport and administrative and economic
activities consume less and pollute less? How can traffic jams be reduced,
and traffic flows smoother? How can we improve the air quality of a
metropolis?

There is a wealth of literature on intelligent buildings and intelligent


cities. In metropolises, residential buildings are often co-owned. Owners
own thousandths of a residential building. An annual general meeting of the
co-owners makes decisions on renovation and maintenance. It is the subject
of many disagreements due to the diverse situations of owners, some of
whom are occupants and others lessors. Metropolises may have individual
houses, such as villas in Riyadh or identical brick houses and mansions
found in the European Metropolis of Lille. Intelligent buildings have become
central to the problems of metropolises, knowing that the number of
intelligent buildings does not necessarily make an intelligent city (Rochet
2018). This intelligence, which is artificial, seems easier to implement in
commercial buildings, which have more financial resources, than in
residential buildings and social housing.

Intelligent buildings have a broader scope than just energy issues. The
energy-efficient building must interactively manage consumer equipment,
production equipment and storage equipment (batteries, electric vehicles,
etc.). Intelligent buildings will use new information and communication
technologies (NICTs) to integrate solutions, certainly for energy
management, but more broadly for the comfort and security of their users. It
is equipped with home automation, sensors and objects connected to the
Internet and digital interconnections to achieve these objectives (Rassia and
Pardalos 2017). Telephony and television over Internet Protocol (IP, IPTV)
make it possible to increase speeds, better secure exchanges, and save money
because of a box that offers a global package, which gives more comfort.
Surveillance cameras (CCTV) and alarm systems become connected objects
that are remotely controllable, more reliable, more responsive and more
informative for better security.

Intelligence does not come to metropolises by chance from digital


technologies, but by the continued existence of a living system. The purpose
of a metropolis is not to be intelligent but to serve its citizens. Technology is
a tool for a social purpose. Efficient networks are at the service of public
service missions. The metropolis must be resilient and responsive to events
20 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

that may occur, particularly disasters linked to poorly controlled human


activity and linked to natural hazards and climate change.

The definition of resilience for a metropolis is the subject of research


(Reghezza-Zitt and Rufat 2015). The ability or skill of the municipal team,
elected officials and salaried territorial agents, governance, master plans,
urban planning, the relationship of the local community with the State is
very real. It has of course a positive impact on the proper management of the
metropolis, on the management of risks, particularly for the energy, air and
climate issues.

In order to make progress in organizing the energy needs of metropolises,


German research on Urban Energiewende (urban energy transition) is still
interesting to follow because this federal country has twice as many cities with
more than 100,000 inhabitants as France. It decided to withdraw from nuclear
power following the Fukushima disaster, with the shutdown of eight nuclear
reactors (8.4 GW) and the scheduling of the shutdown of nine others from
2015 to 2022 (12.1 GW), through the 13th amendment to the Atomgesetz law
(August 2011) and the second part of the Erneuer-bare Energien Gesetz 2 law
(July 2015). There is, therefore, strong pressure to reduce urban electricity
consumption. Since 2011, a major effort has also been made to increase
federal funding for energy research with five ministries involved: Industry,
Research, Environment, Agriculture and Transport. Transversal initiatives,
universities, non-university organizations (Max-Planck, Helmholtz,
Fraunhofer, Leibnitz and OFATE), agencies (DFG, DAAD and DENA) and
foundations (Humboldt) are part of the scheme.

Faced with an evolutionary inventory of the existing situation, it is


necessary to see how to improve a situation by trying to control consumption
by decarbonizing it and to reduce the energy bill and greenhouse gas
emissions in a large urban area. The examples of the metropolis of Riyadh, the
capital of Saudi Arabia, and the European metropolis of Lille, the capital of
the Hauts-de-France region, were chosen because of their differences. Riyadh
does not use the term metropolis in its name but has all its characteristics, due
to its size, population, political and economic importance but also its
configuration. It consists of the central municipality and 15 other
municipalities and a diplomatic district, i.e. a community of agglomerations
that can be described as a metropolis.
Energy Transition in Metropolises 21

These two metropolises do not have the same culture, history, geography,
demography, urban planning or transport system. How do these differences
impact the energy, air and climate challenges that should converge in
globalization? It can be said that every metropolis is seeking to secure its
energy supply, make mobility more fluid and fight against the fuel poverty of
the most disadvantaged. It wants to avoid power outages, gas cuts, fuel
shortages, air pollution and traffic jams that cause people to get angry and
block economic activity.

Budgetary constraints, more active citizen control over public spending, the
desire for transparency and the comparison between metropolises force
territorial executives to find the best economically acceptable solutions for
energy, air and climate issues, in harmony with the State and its decentralized
services. Finally, the rise of environmental issues, the introduction of new
national and supranational regulations with the major continental directives
and the Paris Global Climate Agreement (COP21 of December 2015) set new
binding targets to be met. Metropolises must reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
accelerate renewable energies and energy efficiency to contain global warming
through adaptation and mitigation measures to help achieve carbon neutrality
by 2050. This carbon neutrality is not always precisely defined. It is the
balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted in the world
and the Earth’s ability to capture and store these gases.

It is not a question here of making a tedious inventory of all the initiatives


taken by the two selected cities, their citizens and their companies in the field
of energy transition because there are many of them. We are conditioned by
the urban space in which we live. Facing different urban dynamics broadens
the mind and makes it possible to find better solutions to the problems of toxic
gas emissions. These problems seem almost unsolvable when one considers
the population growth in cities and the acceleration of human activities.
Metropolises have no choice but to adapt and mitigate the effects of global
warming by taking relevant measures that may vary according to geography
and specific constraints. A metropolis on the coast, by the sea, does not have
the same problems as one at altitude. The metropolis in an arid climate does
not have the same challenges as one in a temperate climate or in the far North.

The cultural, historical and religious differences between Riyadh and Lille
are obvious. The comparative reference dates immediately illustrate the
difference in roots. The metropolis of Riyadh uses the Hijri Islamic lunar
calendar in which the year 1440 corresponds to the year 2019 of the Western
22 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

Gregorian calendar. The European Metropolis of Lille uses this Western


Gregorian calendar, which is used for this work. The alphabet is not the same,
which makes it more difficult to search. The metropolis of Riyadh uses the
Arabic alphabet, which is a horizontal writing system from right to left, noting
only consonants, with a very particular spelling and phonological system. The
European Metropolis of Lille uses the Latin alphabet, which is bicameral, i.e.
with 26 base letters, upper and lower case. It is this alphabet used in the West
that is used for this book. More than a different language, it is a whole frame
of reference of thought that distinguishes the two metropolises. However, they
will be found using the metric system1 and the same temperature
measurement, the degree Celsius (°C), retained here in the book.

In the section on the energy transition in metropolises, the synthesis of the


respective research work in Riyadh and Lille is presented, analyzing the
facilities, constructions, habitats and transport systems of the two cities. The
respective stakes of the two metropolises are deduced in terms of energy
transition. At the end of this section, lessons are drawn from a comparative
analysis that opens with the essence of energy transition in metropolises and
allows solutions to be proposed in summary tables at the end of the book. This
same plan is followed for rural and desert areas to allow for consistent
reasoning and homogeneity for the reader.

2.2. The example of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia

2.2.1. Presentation of Riyadh

Status: Capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and province


– Latitude: 24° 37' N.
– Longitude: 46° 42' W.
– Altitude: 600 m.
– Climate: hot desert, BWh in the Köppen classification.
– Surface area: 1,554 km².
– Language: Arabic.
– Religion: Sunni Islam as the majority.
– Population: 6,907,000 inhabitants (2018).

1 Please note that this book uses the metric system.


Energy Transsition in Metropo
olises 23

– Population
P groowth rate: 4% per year.
– Non-Saudi
N poppulation: 36%.
– Density:
D 4,444 inhabitants/kkm2.
– Organization:
O Fifteen munnicipalities an
nd a central municipality with a
diplommatic district atttached.
– Date
D of creatiion: Riyadh hash been the capital of thee Kingdom of Saudi
Arabiaa since the couuntry’s creatioon in 1932.
– Mayor:
M Tarek bin
b Abdulazizz Al-Fares, sin
nce February 2018.
2

Box 2.1
1. Riyadh iden
ntity card

udi Arabia2
Figure 2.1. Map of Sau

The name Riyaddh comes froom the plural of the worrd ar-Riyāḍ, gardens,
which has
h the meanning “place fullfu of garden ns and orcharrds”. It is ann oasis in
the deseert. Riyadh iss one of the world’s
w citiess with a veryy dynamic poopulation
growth of nearly 4% % per year, with a popu ulation that exceeded
e (UN
UN 2018)
7 millioon inhabitantss in 2019. Tooday, Riyadh h’s metropoliis reaches 1,5554 km2.

2 Map maade by the co-auuthor.


24 Energy Transition in Metropolises, Rural Areas and Deserts

By 2021, this area is expected to double to 3,114 km2. The capital of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is located in the central part of the Arabian
Peninsula on a latitude that is 1° 11' north of that of the Tropic of Cancer, i.e.
about 135 km to its north. Riyadh is on a sedimentary plateau about 600 m
above sea level. The metropolis is located about 400 km from the nearest sea,
at the convergence of several wadis and rivers. This explains its relief; oasis;
valleys of Hanifa, Al-Bat’ha and Al Yassen; and its small hills to the east of its
territory. This large yellow plateau is called the Nejd and extends west to the
Toweiq mountain range and east to the Al-Dahna desert. Together with
Buraydah and Al Khardj, it forms a central corridor for development. In Saudi
Arabia, the other two major urban areas are by the sea; on the one hand, by the
Red Sea, around Jeddah and Mecca, and, on the other hand, by the Arabian
Gulf around Al-Hufuf and Dhahran.

Riyadh is a city characterized by its continental desert climate (BWh), hot


and dry during the long summer months, but more mild during the short
winter, with cool nights. The average3 July temperature ranges from 27 to
43°C (81–109°F) in Riyadh. The average January temperature varies from 8 to
20°C (47–68°F). Annual rainfall in Riyadh is 100 mm (4 inches) and falls
exclusively from January to May and especially in April. Rainfall can be
accompanied by winds and storms. Riyadh’s ancient history dates back to the
18th Century, during the first Saudi state, when it was known as Hajar. In
1744, in this region of the Nejd, a power-sharing pact was concluded between
the religious preacher Mohammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and the clan chief of
the Dariya oasis, Al-Saoud chief Mohammad Ibn Saud. The two leaders
gradually extended their control over the peninsula that was Ottoman from
their capital Dariya. The Al-Saoud descendants continued this conquest and
took the Nejd and Hajar plateau from the Ottomans in 1773, which became
Riyadh.

As the Ottomans and the British felt threatened by these conquests, Sultan
Mahmud II launched a military campaign against the Al-Saoud family with
the Pasha of Egypt, Mohamed Ali. In 1816, the Egyptians regained control,
reclaiming the Nejd Plateau and setting fire to the capital Dariya. The second
Saudi state began in confrontation, with the descendant Al-Saoud leading a

3 Third communication from Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, December 22, 2016.
Energy Transition in Metropolises 25

revolt against the occupying troops, with desert Bedouins and managed to
settle in Riyadh, which became the capital of the second Saudi state in 1821.
The quarrels and wars defeated the Al Saud in 1891. The family was forced
into exile in Kuwait, then protected by the United Kingdom, enemy of the
Ottoman Empire. The young descendant of the Al-Saud family, Abdul Aziz
ben Abdel Rahman Al Saud, organized the reconquest and overnight capture
of Riyadh from Kuwait in 1902. He took over Fort Al Masmak, which was
built in 1865 and can still be seen. It was during this period that Riyadh’s
toponymy and its strategic role as a capital were definitively established. After
long struggles, the Al-Saud family reclaimed territories that the ancestors had
lost: the province of Nedj (1906) and Hassa (1913) and his descendant
obtained the political title of Emir of the Nejd. The First World War was
marked by new conquests and closer ties with the British. In 1920, the Treaty
of Sèvres dispossessed the Ottoman Empire of its Arab territories, particularly
Arabia. Abdul Aziz then conquered Assir (1921) and Hedjaz (1925). It was
then recognized by France, Great Britain, the United States and the USSR and
was able to create the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on September 23, 1932 by
merging the provinces of Nejd and Hedjaz. He became the first king of
modern Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, capital of the new kingdom.

The old gates (Derouiaza) allowed access to the historic city and today
bear witness to this eventful history. They made it possible to protect, to let
citizens pass through, as the geographer traveler Spelling Al-Yaʿqūbī
(889 AD) has already described, and to enclose the old city. Among these
gates, the following are selected:
– Al Themiri, a renovated gate east of Riyadh, which still exists;
– Al Souelem, gate north of Riyadh;
– Dekhna or Manfouha, gate south of Riyadh;
– Al Madhbah, gate west of Riyadh;
– Al Shmeisi, gate southwest of Riyadh;
– Al Qeri, gate east of Riyadh;
– Al Wasitti or Weer, gateway to the east, between the gates of Al
Thumairi and Al Qeri;
– Al Mreqeb or Al Badiaaa, gate west of Riyadh;
– Al Sharqiya, gate southeast of Riyadh.
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legislation, but from the circumstances that the existing laws
were hastily framed or were the outcome of party rancour. If
we had formerly had a Senate composed of men of experience and
good patriots, they would never have consented to the conclusion
of so many onerous loans, to the application of so many
iniquitous measures, nor to the convocation of the special
tribunal, 'le tribunal extraordinaire,' of 1899.

"At first the Radical party was not favourable to the


institution of an Upper Chamber, but it now recognizes the
great advantages it will offer, and has rallied to my project.
The Progressist party has always been favourable to it. The
majority of the Liberal party has also adhered to it. I
therefore believe that this new institution will be of the
greatest service to the country. All that is required, and
with a little good will it can be easily done, is that the
members of the two Chambers should endeavour honestly,
sincerely, and loyally to work for the good of the State and
of the nation. If I have not thought right to raise the
qualification for the suffrage, as desired by some people, it
is because I did not wish to disfranchise any of those who
have enjoyed the right of voting during the last 35 years. I
do not wish to restrict any of the rights of the nation.

{451}

"The application of the new Constitution will be the great


task of my Government, in which I have every confidence. The
Prime Minister, Dr. Vuitch, has the sympathy and support not
only of his own party but of all who would like to see the
country governed in a liberal spirit. His presence at the head
of the Ministry is a pledge for the active and sincere
co-operation of all elements of order and progress. … As soon
as the new Constitution has been promulgated, the Government
will invite the co-operation of all those which admit its
necessity and fitness. A large Conservative party will thus be
formed which will have the requisite power and authority for
all purposes of government, for the application of the
Constitution, and for the elaboration of financial and
economic laws necessary for the progress of the country.

"As regards the question of the succession to the Throne, I


wanted to settle it finally, as the members of the reigning
dynasty are not numerous unless the remote collateral lines be
included, which is not possible. Moreover, everybody wished me
to take in this matter such decisions as I might think proper
in view of securing the continuation of the Servian Monarchy.
The first thing to be done was to safeguard the rights of the
direct line without seeking to bind ourselves by the Salic
Law, which there is really no reason to apply in our country.
I should add here that there are no anti-dynastic elements in
Servia, with the exception, perhaps, of a few hare-brained
individuals who really do not enter into account. My people
are profoundly attached to the reigning dynasty, and never
lose an opportunity of showing me their loyalty. It is the
same with all the political parties.

"Before promulgating the Constitution I decided to consult the


most influential members of the parties in office. They agreed
with me, and promised me to assist harmoniously in the work. I
have also consulted the leading members of the Liberal party,
and with two or three exceptions they have given me the same
assurances. Such being the case, I may say that the
Constitution of 1901 is not a production of my will or of my
good pleasure, but that it is the result of an understanding
between the Sovereign and the leaders of the three political
parties. I consequently reckon upon their sincere and active
co-operation, and I trust they will not fail me. I am firmly
convinced that the new Constitution will act as a fresh and
vigorous stimulus to my country, and that it will bring it
that calm and stability which it sorely needs. I sincerely
regard it as a source of prosperity and welfare for Servia."

SEVERALTY ACT, The Indian.


See (in this volume)
INDIANS, AMERICAN: A. D. 1899-1900.

SEYMOUR, Vice-Admiral Sir Edward:


Expedition to relieve Peking.

See (in this volume)


CHINA: A. D. 1900 (JUNE 10-26).

SEYYIDIEH, The province of.

See (in this volume)


BRITISH EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE: A. D. 1895-1897.

SHAFTER, General:
Commanding the expedition against Santiago de Cuba.

See (in this volume)


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JUNE-JULY).

SHAFTER, General:
Surrender of Spanish forces at Santiago and all eastern Cuba.

See (in this volume)


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY 4-17).

SHAFTER, General:
Report of sickness in army.
Removal of troops to Montauk Point.

See (in this volume)


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY-AUGUST:
CUBA).

SHANGHAI.
"Shanghai is the New York of China. It occupies a position on
the coast quite similar to that of New York on our own eastern
coast, and its percentage of importations into China is about
the same as that which New York enjoys in the United States.
The large share of the foreign trade of China which Shanghai
controls is due largely to its position at the mouth of the
great artery through which trade flows to and from China—the
Yangtze-Kiang. Transportation in bulk in China up to the
present time having been almost exclusively by water, and the
Yangtze being navigable by steamers and junks for more than
2,000 miles, thus reaching the most populous, productive, and
wealthy sections of the country, naturally a very large share
of the foreign commerce entering or leaving that country
passes through Shanghai, where foreign merchants, bankers,
trade representatives, trade facilities, and excellent docking
and steamship conveniences exist. The lines of no less than
eight great steamship companies center at Shanghai, where they
land freight and passengers from their fleets of vessels which
are counted by hundreds, while the smaller vessels, for river
and coastwise service, and the native junks are counted
literally by thousands. The Yangtze from Shanghai westward to
Hankow, a distance of 582 miles, is navigable for very large
steamships that are capable of coasting as well as river
service. Hankow, which with its suburbs has nearly a million
people, is the most important of the interior cities, being a
great distributing center for trade to all parts of central
and western China and thus the river trade between Shanghai
and Hankow is of itself enormous, while the coastwise trade
from Shanghai, both to the north and south, and that by the
Grand Canal to Tientsin, the most important city of northern
China, is also very large."

United States, Bureau of Statistics,


Monthly Summary, March, 1899, page 2191.

"When the English chose this position, in 1842, for their


mercantile settlement, it seemed difficult to believe that
they would ever succeed in making the place a rival of Canton
or of Amoy. It is true that Shanghai possessed important
commercial relations already, and the great geographical
advantage of commanding the entrance to the navigable river
which traverses the whole empire from west to east; but the
builders of the city there had to struggle with enormous
difficulties of soil and climate. They had to solidify and
drain the land, dig canals, dry up marshes, cleanse the air of
its miasms, besides incessantly dredging and clearing the
channel, to keep it open for their ships. The first European
merchants established at Shanghai were favored in fortune by
the national disasters of China. The Taiping war drove
fugitives in multitudes to the territory conceded to
foreigners, and when the town of Soutcheou was destroyed, in
1860, Shanghai succeeded it as the great city of the country."

É. Reclus,
Nouvelle géographie universelle,
volume 7, page 455.

SHANGHAI: A. D. 1898.
Rioting consequent on French desecration of a cemetery.
Extension of foreign settlements.

See (in this volume)


CHINA: A. D. 1898-1899.

SHANTUNG, The "Boxer" outbreak in.

See (in this volume)


CHINA: A. D. 1900 (JANUARY-MARCH).

SHIMONOSEKI, Text of the Treaty of.

See (in this volume)


CHINA: A. D. 1894-1895.
{452}

SHIPPING OF THE WORLD: In 1900.

Statement of number and net and gross tonnage of steam and


sailing vessels of over 100 tons of the several countries of
the world, as recorded in Lloyd's Register for 1900-1901
[dated July 1, 1900].

United States, Commissioner of Navigation,


Annual Report, 1900, page 125.

FLAG STEAM.
SAIL. TOTAL.
------------------------- -
----------------- -------------
Number. Net tons. Gross tons.
Number. Net tons. Number. Tonnage.

British:
United Kingdom. 7,020 7,072,401 11,513,759
1,894 1,727,687 8,914 13,241,446
Colonies. 910 378,925 635,331
1,014 384,477 1,924 1,019,808
Total. 7,930 7,451,326 12,149,090
2,908 2,112,164 10,838 14,261,254

American
(United States):
Sea. 690 594,237 878,564
2,130 1,156,498 2,820 2,035,062
Lake. 242 436,979 576,402
73 138,807 315 715,209
Total. 932 1,031,216 1,454,966
2,203 1,295,305 3,135 2,750,271

Argentine. 95 36,938 57,239


106 30,407 201 87,646
Austro-Hungarian 214 240,808 387,471
56 28,613 270 416,084
Belgian. 115 111,624 162,493
2 420 117 162,913
Brazilian. 215 85,799 133,507
117 29,580 332 163,087
Chilean. 52 38,960 62,872
75 48,106 127 110,978
Chinese. 48 41,847 65,721
1 573 49 66,294
Colombian. 1 555 877
5 1,110 6 1,987
Danish. 369 240,599 412,273
433 106,738 802 519,011
Dutch. 289 307,574 467,209
117 63,068 406 530,277
French. 662 542,305 1,052,193
552 298,309 1,214 1,350,562
German. 1,209 1,344,605 2,159,919
501 490,114 1,710 2,650,033
Greek. 139 111,797 178,137
230 65,957 369 245,094
Haitian. 5 912 1,750
2 414 7 2,164
Italian. 312 343,020 540,349
864 443,306 1,176 983,655
Japanese. 484 303,303 488,187
582 86,370 1,006 574,557
Mexican. 25 6,562 11,460
13 3,081 38 14,541
Montenegrin. 1 1,064 1,857
14 3,513 15 5,370
Norwegian. 806 467,123 764,683
1,574 876,129 2,380 1,640,812
Peruvian. 3 3,204 4,869
33 9,607 36 14,476
Portuguese. 48 37,153 57,664
156 53,391 204 111,055
Roumanian. 17 9,686 17,361
3 659 20 18,020
Russian. 496 292,277 469,496
750 251,405 1,246 720,901
Sarawakian. 2 244 418
2 418
Siamese. 4 821 1,435
1 294 5 1,729
Spanish. 422 416,882 642,231
175 52,549 597 694,780
Swedish. 678 260,023 418,550
755 218,722 1,433 637,272
Turkish. 135 58,974 94,781
170 48,709 305 143,490
Uruguayan. 17 6,438 10,468
19 4,032 36 14,500
Venezuelan. 12 2,450 4,246
8 1,185 20 5,431
Zanzibarian. 3 1,871 2,808
3 2,808
Other countries:
Hawaii. 23 11,185 16,922
24 29,707 47 46,629
Cuba. 35 17,651 27,040
11 2,410 46 29,450
Philippine Islands 69 19,587 31,099
42 8,236 111 39,335
Various:
Arabia,
Salvador,
Ecuador,
Liberia,
Samos,
Nicaragua,
Bulgaria,
Costa Rica,
Egypt,
Persia,
Porto Rico,
etc. 31 10,130 17,717
22 9,127 53 26,844

Total. 15,898 13,800,513 22,309,358


12,524 6,674,370 28,422 29,043,728

SHIRE HIGHLANDS, The.

See (in this volume)


BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE.

SHOA.

See (in this volume)


EGYPT: A. D. 1885-1896.

SHUN-CH'ING, Anti-missionary insurrection at.

See (in this volume)


CHINA: A. D. 1898-1899 (JUNE-JANUARY).
SIAH CHAI, or Vegetarians, The.

See (in this volume)


CHINA: A. D. 1895 (AUGUST).

SIAM: A. D. 1896-1899.
Declaration between Great Britain and France
with regard to Siam.

A declaration of agreement, in part as follows, between Great


Britain and France, was signed at London, January 15, 1896:

"I.
The Governments of Great Britain and France engage to one
another that neither of them will, without the consent of the
other, in any case, or under any pretext, advance their armed
forces into the region which is comprised in the basins of the
Petcha Bouri, Meiklong, Menam, and Bang Pa Kong (Petriou)
Rivers and their respective tributaries, together with the
extent of coast from Muong Bang Tapan to Muong Pase, the
basins of the rivers on which those two places are situated,
and the basins of the other rivers, the estuaries of which are
included in that coast; and including also the territory lying
to the north of the basin of the Menam, and situated between
the Anglo-Siamese frontier, the Mekong River, and the eastern
watershed of the Me Ing. They further engage not to acquire
within this region any special privilege or advantage which
shall not be enjoyed in common by, or equally open to, Great
Britain and France, and their nationals and dependents. These
stipulations, however, shall not be interpreted as derogating
from the special clauses which, in virtue of the Treaty
concluded on the 3rd October, 1893, between France and Siam,
apply to a zone of 25 kilometers on the right bank of the
Mekong and to the navigation of that river.

{453}
II.
Nothing in the foregoing clause shall hinder any action on
which the two Powers may agree, and which they shall think
necessary in order to uphold the independence of the Kingdom
of Siam. But they engage not to enter into any separate
Agreement permitting a third Power to take any action from
which they are bound by the present Declaration themselves to
abstain.

III.
From the mouth of the Nam Huok northwards as far as the
Chinese frontier the thalweg of the Mekong shall form the
limit of the possessions or spheres of influence of Great
Britain and France. It is agreed that the nationals and
dependents of each of the two countries shall not exercise any
jurisdiction or authority within the possessions or sphere of
influence of the other."

In a despatch to the British Ambassador at Paris, written on


the same day, Lord Salisbury explained the intent and purpose
of the agreement as follows: "It might be thought that because
we have engaged ourselves, and have received the engagement of
France, not under any circumstances to invade this territory,
that therefore we are throwing doubt upon the complete title
and rights of the Siamese to the remainder of their kingdom,
or, at all events, treating those rights with disregard. Any
such interpretation would entirely misrepresent the intention
with which this arrangement has been signed. We have selected
a particular area for the application of the stipulations of
this Treaty, not because the title of the King of Siam to
other portions of his dominions is less valid, but because it
is the area which affects our interests as a commercial
nation. The valley of the Menam is eminently fitted to receive
a high industrial development. Possibly in course of time it
may be the site of lines of communication which will be of
considerable importance to neighbouring portions of the
British Empire. There seems every prospect that capital will
flow into this region if reasonable security is offered for
its investment, and great advantage would result to the
commerce and industry of the world, and especially of Great
Britain, if capitalists could be induced to make such an
application of the force which they command. But the history
of the region in which Siam is situated has not in recent
years been favourable to the extension of industrial
enterprise, or to the growth of that confidence which is the
first condition of material improvement. A large territory to
the north has passed from the hands of the Burmese Government
to those of Great Britain. A large territory to the east has
passed from the hands of its former possessors to those of
France. The events of this recent history certainly have a
tendency to encourage doubts of the stability of the Siamese
dominion; and without in any degree sharing in those doubts,
or admitting the possibility, within any future with which we
have to deal, of the Siamese independence being compromised,
Her Majesty's Government could not but feel that there would
be an advantage in giving some security to the commercial
world that, in regard to the region where the most active
development is likely to take place, no further disturbances
of territorial ownership are to be apprehended."

Great Britain, Parliamentary Publications


(Papers by Command: France, Number 2, 1896, pages 1-3).

Perhaps the above explanation can be better understood after


reading the following:

"In the early eighties France commenced the subjugation of


Tonquin. … It was not until 1893 that France openly attacked
Siam. The demand was subtly formulated—on behalf, not of the
Government of the French Republic, but of 'the Empire of
Annam.' But even so the French had been in Annam for perhaps a
quarter of a century, whereas Siam could show an undisturbed,
undisputed tenure of the Mekong River's 'rive gauche' for at
least ninety years. … The cession to France of territory
amounting to rather more than one-third of the entire kingdom
was insisted upon; and in March 1893 that Power sent the
ship-of-war Lutin to Bangkok, where she remained for months a
standing menace. A rigorous blockade of the Siamese seaboard
followed, resulting in a few short days in complete surrender
of the disputed territory to France and the payment of a heavy
war indemnity. … By the Anglo-French Convention of last year
[as given above] the King of Siam's position became, to say
the least, slightly anomalous. That agreement practically
amounted to the fair division, between France and England, of
the whole of Siam save that portion situate in the fertile
valley of the Meinam, whose autonomy they still guarantee to
preserve. … France holds, in addition to the long-coveted port
of Chantabûn, that part of the province of Luang Phrabang
which is situate upon the right bank of the Mekong. … The
Siamese king is 'nulli secundus' among Oriental monarchs as a
progressive ruler. And fate has been unkind to him indeed! He
has encouraged English customs and the English language by all
the means in his power—has taken the kindliest possible
interest in the introduction of electric light, electric
tramways, &c., into his capital—has endeavoured to model his
army and navy, his prison and other systems, upon the English
method—and has in person opened the first railway (that
connecting Bangkok with Pâknam) in Siam. It is, indeed, one of
the strangest and most interesting sights, as you stroll
through the streets of the capital, to witness the 'riksha and
gharry of comparative barbarism travelling in juxtaposition to
the electric tramcar and the bicycle! And for his broad and
enlightened views the King of Siam has been requited by the
wholesale and utterly unjustifiable plunder of his most
fertile lands."
Percy Cross Standing,
The Significance of the Siamese Visit
(Nineteenth Century, June, 1897).

Frequent collisions between French and Siamese in the


so-called "neutral zone" on the right bank of the Mekong
continued, until a new convention was agreed upon in May,
1890. This gave to France the province of Luang-Phrabang, in
return for which she agreed to withdraw entirely from the
neutral territory and from the port of Chantabûn.

SIAM: A. D. 1898.
Gift of relics of Buddha.

See (in this volume)


BUDDHA.

SIAM: A. D. 1899 (May-July).


Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.

See (in this volume)


PEACE CONFERENCE.

SIAN FU,
SI-NGAN-FU,
The Chinese Imperial Court at.

See (in this volume)


CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER).

SIBERIA.

See (in this volume)


RUSSIA IN ASIA.

SIBERIAN ARCTIC EXPLORATION.


See (in this volume)
POLAR EXPLORATION, 1805, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900.

{454}

SIERRA LEONE PROTECTORATE.


Extension of British authority over the Hinterland of the
Colony of Sierra Leone.
The hut tax.
Insurrection of natives.

"Immediately adjoining the Colony of Sierra Leone, lying to


the northward and eastward, is the Hinterland, the boundaries
of which were defined by the Agreement between Great Britain
and France which was concluded 21st January 1895. The extreme
depth from south to north is about 210 miles, lying between 7°
and 10° north latitude, and 180 miles from east to west, lying
between 10° 40' and 13° 20' of west longitude. The estimated area
is rather more than 30,000 square miles—about the size of
Ireland. … Unlike many regions on the west coast of Africa,
the country is, for the most part, well watered by rivers and
running streams. The population of the Hinterland has not been
ascertained. It has been variously estimated, before the
present troubles, at from about 750,000 up to about 2,000,000.
The trade and revenue of the Colony depend almost entirely on
the Hinterland. A very large proportion of the goods imported
into the Colony are carried into and consumed in the
Hinterland. These goods are paid for by means of the products
of the Hinterland, which are exported, and the profits derived
from the exchange enable the merchants to pay the Customs
duties, which constitute the bulk of the Colonial revenue. The
territories forming the Hinterland are, according to the
native organisation, ruled over by a large number of Chiefs
(or Kings, as they used to be, and still in native parlance
are, called). The portions of country under each Chief are
well ascertained, and recognised by the various Chiefs and
their subjects. …

"The relations between the English Government and the Chiefs


at the time of the conclusion of the Agreement between France
and England in 1895 was … that some of the Chiefs whose
territories lay most adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone
had contracted with the English Crown certain treaties of
cession, and treaties directed to definite objects of amity
and good offices. In addition there had sprung up by usage a
limited consensual and advisory jurisdiction, under which
Chiefs as well as persons not Chiefs would bring their
differences (mainly as to territorial boundaries) before the
Governor of Sierra Leone as a sort of arbitrator, and
implicitly follow his awards. This jurisdiction was exercised
over an area of no defined limits, so far as any rules were
concerned. As a fact, it was limited by conditions of distance
and facility of travel, so that whilst the usage was most
established in the countries nearest to Freetown, there was
none in the more distant regions, or if there was any it was
at most so rudimentary as to be jurally of no account. … I
have not been able to trace any instance in which, either
under treaty or any other form of consent, or without consent,
the English Government has imposed, or endeavoured to impose
any direct taxation upon the Chiefs or people of the
Hinterland prior to 1896.

"The agreement between France and Great Britain delimited the


respective spheres of interest of the two countries south and
west of the Middle or Upper Niger, and thus defined for
England in the Hinterland of Sierra Leone a territory within
which, so far as concerned any question between France and
England, England was at liberty to exercise whatever species
or extent of jurisdiction she might consider proper. It made,
of course, no alteration on the existing native organisation,
nor upon the existing relations between England and the native
Chiefs, who were not parties to the agreement in any sense. …
On 31st August 1896 a Proclamation was published setting forth
that Her Majesty had assumed a Protectorate over the
territories adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone in which
Her Majesty had acquired power and jurisdiction. For purposes
of administration the Hinterland was divided into five
districts, intended to be of about equal size, avoiding
severance as far as possible by the district boundary of the
territories of Paramount Chiefs. These districts have been
named as the Karene, Ronietta, Bandajuma, Pangmua, and
Koinadugu districts. In anticipation of the arrangements that
might become necessary for the government of the Protectorate,
an Order of the Queen in Council had been made on 24th August
1895, … whereby, … Her Majesty was pleased, by and with the
advice of her Privy Council, to order that it shall be lawful
for the Legislative Council, for the time being, of the Colony
of Sierra Leone, by Ordinance or Ordinances, to exercise and
provide for giving effect to all such jurisdiction as Her
Majesty may at any time, before or after the passing of the
Order in Council, have acquired in the said territories
adjacent to the Colony of Sierra Leone. … Following upon the
Order of the Queen in Council, an Ordinance, entitled 'An
Ordinance to Determine the mode of exercising Her Majesty's
Jurisdiction in the Territories adjacent to the Colony of
Sierra Leone,' was passed by the Legislative Council and
Governor of Sierra Leone for the Government of the
Protectorate, on 16th September 1896."

Great Britain,
Report and Correspondence on Insurrection in
the Sierra Leone Protectorate
(Parliamentary Publications:
Papers by Command, 1899, C. 9388, pages 10-17).

The Ordinance above mentioned, which was reenacted, with some


changes, in September, 1897, provided, among other things, for
the imposition of a house tax, or hut tax, upon the natives,
and this proved to be the main cause of a serious native
revolt in the Protectorate. "By way of asserting the Crown's
ownership of all lands, whether in use and occupation or
not—and also of attempting to make the people defray the cost
of governing them by methods they resent—the Protectorate
Ordinance imposes a 'house tax' of five shillings a year, and,
in the case of 'houses with four rooms or more,' of ten
shillings a year, on every 'householder'; the same to be paid
in 'sterling coin' on or after the 1st January in each year,
or, in default of payment on demand, to be distrained for with
so much addition as will defray the cost of removing the
property and disposing of it for 'the price current at the
nearest market.' The absurdity of thus importing the mechanism
of civilisation into 'house tax' levying among these ignorant
savages matches the injustice of the tax itself. The mud
hovels to be taxed are rarely worth more than the equivalent
of two or three shillings apiece, and shillings or other
'sterling coin' are rarely seen or handled by the natives,
such wages as they earn being generally paid in kind, and such
trade as they carry on being nearly always in the way of barter.
{455}
Few who are not chiefs or headmen own property worth as much
as five shillings, and property for which five shillings could
be obtained 'at the nearest market' might be worth the
equivalent of five pounds to them. There was no attempt to
raise the proposed house or hut tax before last January
[1898], and perhaps none of the natives have even yet any
understanding of the clauses of the Protectorate Ordinance
providing them with new-fangled 'courts of Justice,' and
taking from them all proprietary rights in their land. But as
soon as a proclamation was issued on 21st August, 1896,
notifying the contemplated changes, all who heard of them were
reasonably alarmed, and wherever the news spread seeds of fresh
discontent were sown. …

"There were burning of huts, buffeting of chiefs, and so


forth, in the south and east, as well as in the north, where,
owing to the alleged recalcitrancy of Bai Bureh and the zeal
of Captain Sharpe, the District Commissioner, the havoc was
greatest. Early in February several chiefs and headmen were
brought to Freetown from Port Lokko in manacles, to be tried,
or punished without trial, on a charge of 'refusing to comply
with the provisions of the Protectorate Ordinance, and
inciting their subjects to resist the law.' 'The most
affecting part of the matter,' says the newspaper report, 'is
that the natives all loudly affirm their unswerving loyalty to
the Government, and say that they do not refuse to pay the hut
tax because they do not wish to, but because they really
cannot pay.' Their apologies were not listened to. Instead, a
detachment of the West India Regiment was sent up to assist
Captain Sharpe in the little war on which he had already
embarked. A futile attempt to arrest Bai Bureh on 18th
February led to a general uprising, and the first battle was
fought on 3rd March, when the town of Karina was recovered
from the 'insurgents' who had occupied it, and over sixty of
them were killed. Another fight occurred at Port Lokko, on 5th
March, when the 'insurgents' lost about forty more. These
victories being insufficient, fresh troops were sent up in
batches, until the entire force of conquerors numbered 800 or
upwards. They found it easier to cow than to conquer the
people, and the unequal struggle went on for three months. At
the end of May operations had to be suspended during the rainy
season, and before they can be renewed it may be hoped that
peace will be patched up. Already, indeed, the 'rebellion'
appears to be practically crushed, and with it all the
civilisation and all the commerce that had been planted in the
Karina district. Hundreds of natives have been shot down, many
more hundreds have died of starvation. Nearly all the huts
that it was proposed to tax have been destroyed, either by the
owners themselves, or by the policemen and soldiers."

H. R. Fox Bourne,
Sierra Leone Troubles
(Fortnightly Review, August, 1898).

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1895 (January-February).


Attitude of Free Silver majority in the U. S. Senate
towards the Treasury gold reserve.

See (in this volume)


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1895 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY);
and 1895-1896 (DECEMBER-FEBRUARY).

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1896.


In the American Presidential election.

See (in this volume)


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1896-1898.


The Indianapolis Monetary Commission report and
Secretary Gage's plan in Congress.

See (in this volume)


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896-1898.

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1897.


Negotiations by envoys from the United States for an
international bi-metallic agreement.

See (in this volume)


MONETARY QUESTIONS: A. D. 1897 (APRIL-OCTOBER).

SILVER QUESTION, The: A. D. 1900.


Practical settlement of the issue in the United States.
Attempted revival in the Presidential canvass.

See (in this volume)


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1900 (MARCH-DECEMBER), and (MAY-NOVEMBER).

SILVER REPUBLICANS.

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