S04 TRME 4 2020 Regional Power Showcase_Layout 1 30/09/2020 06:13 Page 14
Regional Power showcase
Photo Credit: Zhao jiankang/Adobe Stock
14
Solar parks are cheaper, faster and safer to build and maintain, than oil and gas plants.
Solar dawn in the GCC
The influence of renewable energy, especially solar, is growing in the oil- and gas-rich Gulf states. Slava Kiryushin, head of energy at DWF, and Joshua Coleman-Pecha, associate at DWF, shed light on the challenges the solar energy sector needs to overcome before it can realise its full potential.
NE THING THE Middle East has, and we assume will always have, is sunshine – plenty of it. The members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) each take different steps to harness this sunshine to implement a gradual diversification from hydrocarbons to alternative sources. The approach is due to increasing energy demand. Rapid population growth in GCC countries coupled with largescale economic and industrial expansion plans mean the region's energy consumption is predicted to increase dramatically. Solar power should, if implemented correctly, produce cheaper energy than oil and gas. Solar parks are cheaper, faster and safer to build and maintain, than oil and gas plants. This should make them an attractive investment.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Construction of Abu Dhabi's new 2 GWh solar park in AlDhafra should commence shortly and will complete in 2022. It will almost triple Abu Dhabi's solar power generation capacity to 3.2 GWh and take the emirate's clean energy share to 17%, and according to the Economist, will generate electricity at twothirds the cost of gas and one third of the cost of oil. It is projected to have the world's cheapest solar energy tariff that will be 44% cheaper than Noor Park. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai has been split into five phases. Construction started in 2013 and is expected to complete in 2030. As part of phase four, a 263metre solar tower was installed the tallest in the world. On current projections, by 2021, the Park will increase Dubai's clean energy share to 24% of its overall mix. Once fully operational, the Park will generate 5GWh, making it the world's largest solar park.
The UAE leads the way in solar energy with 79% of the region's installed solar generation capacity, according to International Renewable Energy Agency analysis. It is in the process of implementing its ambitious ‘Energy Strategy 2050’ plan which targets to derive 44% of its energy from clean sources (mainly solar), 38% from gas, 12% from 'clean' coal and 6% from nuclear energy by 2050. The Noor Solar Park in Abu Dhabi is the largest in the world and it is considered a benchmark for solar energy projects. It became operational in mid2019 and generates 1.2 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy.
Another solar powerhouse in the GCC is Saudi Arabia. Its ambitious National Renewable Energy Programme aims to develop just under 60GWh of renewable energy over the next decade – 40GWh of this will be from solar energy. The Middle Eastern Solar Industry Association reports that Saudi Arabia is ahead of its interim targets in meeting this longterm goal. The kingdom currently has seven solar projects, with a total generation capacity above 1.5 GWh, out for tender.
O
Technical Review Middle East - Issue Four 2020
Saudi Arabia
www.technicalreview.me
