The cost of renewable energy projects in the region is $ 200 billion in five years

The cost of renewable energy projects in the region is $ 200 billion in five years



24-07-2017 12:15 PM

Baghdad News -
 
 
MEED expects the number of renewable energy projects in the Arab region to rise over the next five years as governments in the region seek to meet the fast and growing demand for energy through ambitious programs. This requires investments in excess of $ 200 billion, as well as the expansion and improvement of existing networks to facilitate the absorption of additional capacity.
 
"In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 2017, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has launched an unprecedented program to develop renewable energy. Currently, there are more than 67 gigawatts of clean energy projects in different stages of implementation Ranged between design and study ».
 
Given the hydrocarbon reserves available in the region, the Middle East has been slow to adopt renewable energy, but this reality has been changing radically for the past 5 years. In 2013, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi commissioned the implementation of the first solar power plant in the region, the Shams 1 solar intensive plant with a capacity of 100 megawatts. Since then, the significant reduction in the cost of photovoltaic solar power has led to the launch of some of the largest solar power projects in the world, supported by low standard tariffs.

In the 12 countries covered by the report, the total actual capacity of the power generation facilities is 27,171 MW in 2015, more than 7% of which is from renewable energy. But the vast majority of this capacity is hydroelectric. Morocco alone in North Africa, Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE has launched solar projects with a capacity of more than 100 megawatts.

This is expected to change significantly in the coming years, with low standard definitions of renewable energy projects in the area of ​​utilities in the region, changing perceptions of governments and utilities about renewable energy. While renewable energy was virtually absent 10 years ago, the 12 countries already have some kind of renewable energy target.

"While the conditions for renewable energy in the Middle East and North Africa region have long been known, encouraging governments to enhance energy security through fuel diversification for power generation and low technology costs is embracing the adoption of key clean energy programs," the report said. "One of the main factors behind the diversification of energy in the region is the sharp rise in demand for gas due to its increasing efficiency and low emissions compared to other fossil fuels. Gas has become the fuel of choice for power generation in the region over the past two decades."

"All Gulf countries, except Qatar, face a limited gas market, especially with competing demands from oil, industry and utilities. Outside the Gulf states, Jordan has suffered from a high energy import bill in recent years and has been forced to increase oil use due to the decline in natural gas supplies from Egypt. "In North Africa, Egypt has become a liquefied natural gas importer, while Morocco plans to launch an ambitious $ 4.6 billion gas power plant to boost gas supplies and generating capacity," he said.

As new alternatives such as nuclear power and coal are being explored and a range of projects are being implemented in the region, renewable energy is rapidly emerging as a preferred alternative to conventional oil and gas plants.

Renewable energy is not only equivalent to power generation from conventional fossil fuels in the Middle East, but economic profits in 2016 were lower than those of conventional plants, Fossil fuels. " The decline in oil prices has led to increased private sector participation in utility markets in the region. This trend toward independent power producers and independent water and energy producers has enabled some of the world's largest developers to offer competitive offers including some of the lowest prices in the world for renewable energy projects.

Although independent energy producers that attract competitive bidding will continue to encourage the creation of the largest renewable energy projects in the region, some of the region's wealthier governments continue to adopt alternative frameworks and policies to launch renewable energy programs on a smaller scale. The implementation of a structured program based on the preferential tariff for renewable energy supplies in Oman has allowed the development of enormous capacity in the field of renewable energy thanks to cost effective tariffs.

The report addresses the structure of the renewable energy market in each of the 12 countries, key government actors that encourage investment in the sector, existing capacities, planned and under implementation projects, and incentives for investment in renewable energy projects.

$ 40 billion Dubai trade

Dubai's trade grew by 6.1 percent in the first half of this year to 146.7 billion dirhams (about 40 billion dollars), compared with 138.3 billion dirhams (about 37 billion dollars) in the same period last year, according to official data.

Saudi Arabia ranked first as the export and re-export destination in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with a value of AED 51.9 billion, an increase of 18 percent compared to AED 44 billion in the first half of last year.

The number of new members increased by 10.9 percent compared to the same period last year. The number of new companies reached 8897, raising the number of members to 210,000.

The Chamber's Director General, Hamad Buamim, referred to the trade relations between Dubai and Saudi Arabia, which are "in an advanced stage of cooperation." He said that "achieving growth of 18 percent in exports of members to the Kingdom in the first half, The Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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