The volume of new solar- and wind-generated electricity in the GCC is expected to reach 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2015, and eventually help reduce the oil-rich region’s ecological footprint, an industry expert has revealed.
In a paper titled “Identifying the potential of solar and wind energy in GCC states” and presented during the ongoing Alternative Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi, Dr Khalid Burashid, Deputy Chief Executive of Planning and Projects at Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority, said solar and wind energy will contribute in lowering the otherwise high ratio of carbon dioxide (CO2) per capita in the GCC.
Currently, emission of each GCC country as a per cent of global CO2 production is 0.1 per cent for Bahrain, 0.4 per cent for UAE, 0.1 per cent for Oman, 1.2 per cent for Saudi Arabia, 0.2 per cent for Qatar, and 0.2 per cent for Kuwait, according to the World Energy Council (WEC).
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, Burashid emphasised the importance of investing in alternative clean energy, adding that such initiative could prove financially rewarding to the region.
“Using renewable energy will lead to prolonging the life of oil and natural gas in these countries,” he told Alrroya.com.
Majority of GCC countries rely on petrodollars for their respective economies. However, these countries have, in the recent years, taken a more active part in the development of environmentally-friendly energy technologies.
“The average daily use of petroleum worldwide is 80 million barrels,” Burashid said. “Of this, 53 million goes for general transport, five million for travel and air transport, 19 million for land transportation [of] goods and 29 million for land transportation [of] people.”
By 2015, Burashid estimates that the UAE will produce 400MW of solar and wind power while Bahrain’s output is estimated at 1,000MW. Qatar is expected to produce 3,500MW solar electricity, and few but significant amounts in Kuwait and Oman.
About 100GW extra power required in a decade
The figures pale in comparison to the output expectation of the WEC, which recently said that the GCC will require 100 gigawatts of additional power over the next 10 years to meet its ever growing demand.
“The GCC countries, in general, have unique energy characteristics. These include a healthy economic growth, which has triggered substantial growth in energy demand, domestic consumption of petroleum products is growing at more than 8 per cent annually, and electricity consumption is growing at more than 6 per cent annually,” WEC said in its latest report.
According to Burashid, recent estimates are that $57 billion (Dh209bn) will be spent over the next six years in the Middle East and North African region for the installation of new alternative energy capacity alone.
“Of this, $25bn will be spent solely in the GCC,” the executive says.
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