Abu Dhabi to host twin focus on renewables

Events come at a key time as countries throughout the region are pursuing renewable energy technologies to ensure greater energy security, mitigate climate change and reap the socioeconomic benefits they generate.

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Coinciding events in Abu Dhabi next week will bring together leaders from more than 170 countries to discuss solutions to the world’s biggest energy challenges.

Energy access and security, air pollution, climate change and the need for global renewable energy expansion are all on the agenda.

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which coincides with the annual assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), offers an unequalled platform for leaders, policymakers, and investors to dissect these challenges and make plans to tackle them.

These events come at a key time in the world of energy. Driven by falling costs, improving technology, and growing concerns over climate change, the era of renewable energy is upon us – and Arabian Gulf countries are seeing the clear benefits. Countries throughout the region are pursuing renewable energy technologies to ensure greater energy security, mitigate climate change and reap the socioeconomic benefits they generate.

With a rapidly growing population that relies heavily on low-cost fossil-based fuel sources for electricity and water desalination, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of these countries. One of Irena’s 138 member states, it has also recently committed to an ambitious renewable energy expansion programme.

Demand growth, coupled with the loss of potential revenues from hydrocarbon exports from the slide in crude oil prices, puts Saudi Arabia in a position where it needs renewable energy because it is an opportunity it cannot afford to miss.

Research from Citigroup in 2012 has shown that, given the young population, rapid industrialisation and growing demand for desalinated water, energy consumption will continue to increase and Saudi Arabia may become a net oil importer by 2030.

Globally, lower oil prices are not expected to affect investment in renewable energy, as only about 5 per cent of power generation worldwide is from oil. In Saudi Arabia, the fact that there is a subsidy on oil for power generation means renewable energy is still the cheaper option for power.

According to Irena’s Remap 2030 report, Saudi Arabia’s share of renewable energy in 2010 was close to zero, but this is set to change. The kingdom has begun an ambitious approach to developing a sustainable energy mix that emphasises education, research, global collaboration, local integration, commercialisation and social benefit. This ambitious strategy positions the Saudi Arabia to not only implement the world’s largest renewable energy projects, but to also export the resulting expertise and developed technologies globally.

With some of the highest solar irradiation levels of any country in the world, Saudi Arabia has tremendous solar energy potential. The government has already pledged US$109 billion to fund solar energy projects and plans to install 54 gigawatts of renewables by 2032 from solar, wind, geothermal and waste-to-energy projects. Five new solar power plants and a waste-to energy plant are also scheduled for construction this year. The renewable energy transition could bring an estimated 137,000 new jobs to Saudi Arabia, supporting the economy and improving the quality of life.

Deploying new solar installations on a massive scale not only will suit the local climate – but it also will free up a sizeable portion of Saudi Arabia’s oil for international export, thereby helping the country to cut back on petroleum usage in water desalination and power generation. That is the approach pioneered by the UAE through such projects as Shams 1 (with a capacity of 100 megawatts, it is one of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plants) and a set of pilot projects through public-private partnerships to accelerate commercial-scale, renewable-energy powered desalination technology. Saudi Arabia is following suit, true to the spirit of international cooperation that Irena represents.

Around the world, countries are looking for ways to lower their electricity costs and reduce their reliance on hydrocarbons through energy mix diversification. Renewable energy is an essential means of solving the energy challenges that affect us all. Irena supports Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy ambitions and region-wide vision for implementation as an example of the type of actions needed to transform our energy hopes into realities.

Adnan Amin is the director general of the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency.

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