Other countries in the Middle East and North Africa are pursuing solar and wind projects, including Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Algeria and Tunisia. “Primary energy demand in the region is expected to continue to rise at an annual rate of 1.9 percent through 2035,” according to the World Bank. The share of renewable forms of energy increased threefold in the decade from 2002.
1. Which countries lead the region on renewables depends on the type of renewable energy. “There's not one answer to that. Recognizing the growing benefits brought by clean energy, two dozen United States (U.S.) governors emphasized boosting the local economy through clean energy deployment in their 2012 state-of-the-state addresses (National Governors Association, 2014). However, the impacts on the renewable energy industry could be very large, as the regions most affected by the Covid‑19 crisis could see a sharp reduction in construction.
However, future investments may change that picture. Another major change came from falling prices in renewable technology and changing price structures in some Middle Eastern countries. “We find ourselves at a time when investing in renewable energy has never made more sense,” Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council, told an IRENA Summit in Abu Dhabi in January.
I view it as an opportunity. Saudi Arabia is also working to develop renewable energy.
Investment in renewable energy is picking up across the Middle East.
The initiatives discussed encompass renewable energy finance, energy-efficient rural communities, and solar and wind energy. Most Middle Eastern countries lack a sufficient skills base to produce equipment domestically and to provide workers for the renewables sector, though some countries are trying to address the skills gap.
But it is a clear sign of a growing trend to develop renewable energy schemes in the world’s oil-producing heartland, the Middle East. Other factors, such as “well-designed auctions” in recent years, according to IRENA, have helped decrease the cost of renewables. Introduction. Some countries began to see renewable energy projects as useful public relations projects that help build a brand as a center for innovation. While parts of the region have long had personal solar panels, companies and experts in the renewable energy sector often expressed frustration in trying to attract investment or in developing pilot projects for larger-scale production.
A recent study concluded that renewable energy sources, based on wind, water, and sunlight (abbreviated as WWS; not including biomass), could provide all new energy globally by 2030, and replace all current non-renewable energy sources by 2050 (Jacobson and Delucchi 2011, p. 1154). They have the financial resources and they have the sense of urgency, because at some time fossil fuel resources will be exhausted and they have to change their economic value-chain.”Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.I write about business and politics in the Middle East and beyond United Arab Emirates, on 17 January 2018 (Photo: Dominic Dudley). High-profile projects such as Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City and Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park highlight the country’s role in renewable energy innovation, while pragmatic, smaller-scale programs aim to expand the renewable footprint in the UAE.
However, in recent years, this has changed, and parts of the region now appear on track to significantly increase their use of solar and wind power. Wind is another option, especially in North Africa, but also in places such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait. Table 1 shows estimates of the potential Downloadable!
But it is a clear sign of a growing trend to develop renewable energy schemes in the world’s oil-producing heartland, the Middle East.A field of solar photovoltaic panels that form part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai,Across the border in Saudi Arabia, the authorities recently awarded the contract for a 300MW renewable energy scheme, with the local Acwa Power securing the work with a world record low price of $0.023417 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
On solar, Israel, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan and the UAE have been leaders. Significant capital investments are required to scale up renewable energy sources. In some countries, remaining subsidies for oil and gas-based fuels make it difficult for renewables to compete on price.
More immediately, the Sakaka solar power plant project is moving forward and is seen as an important step in making solar power cost competitive. While the Middle East remains heavily dependent on natural gas, in particular, and oil — with coal and nuclear energy playing much smaller roles — renewable energy offers an important opportunity to diversify countries’ energy mixes. Researchers at SUSU School of Economics and Management have analyzed the use of renewable energy sources for the economies of G7 countries. On wind, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Iran, Israel and Kuwait have been leaders, though to varying degrees.
The truly dramatic shift … When the sun’s power does relent it is often because of sand storms, which can quickly envelop whole cities, as has recently been the case in the Saudi capital There is still also the issue of what to do when the sun sets. Policy-makers and investors began shifting from skepticism to interest. In my view those fossil fuel-producing states that have the money, they could take the lead.