Abu Dhabi to build Gulf’s first solar plant
posted on 02/03/2007
Source: UAE interact.com
http://www.uaeinteract.com/news/default.asp?ID=231#24217
Abu Dhabi, which holds the Middle East’s fourth-largest gas reserves, plans to build a US$380 million (Dh1,395m) solar energy plant in the desert as the UAE’s electricity demand outstrips its gasfuelled power supplies. The project will be the first of its kind in the Gulf, Sultan Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, said in an interview. Bids to build the 100 megawatt plant will be sought by August, he said.
Solar energy could help meet surging demand for power and desalinated water in the Gulf. The UAE, the No 2 Arab economy after Saudi Arabia, is considering building coal-fired power plants because it does not have enough natural gas to meet domestic energy demand. “The Gulf region has a lot of energy but, apart from Qatar and Iran, not enough natural gas,” Eckart Woertz, economist for the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre, said yesterday.
“Solar power is a natural choice to meet power demand, and will avoid the need to burn precious oil needed for export.” Abu Dhabi needs to add 2,000 megawatts a year of power generation capacity over the next 15 years to meet the needs of industry and an expanding population, Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi, Director of Privatisation at Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, said.
State-controlled Abu Dhabi Future, known as Masdar, also have plans for a 20 million gallon-a-day seawater desalination plant that could run on solar energy, said Al Jaber. The emirate is “a unique location for solar power”, he said. “We are currently completing a thorough solar radiation analysis of the site.” Abu Dhabi holds about 3.5 per cent of global natural gas stocks, according to the US Department of Energy.
Masdar last year started a US$250 million (Dh918m) fund managed by Credit Suisse Group to invest in environmental technologies and so called clean energy companies. It is also leading a government initiative backed by companies including General Electric, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total to build renewable energy research laboratories and manufacturing facilities in Abu Dhabi. The environmental benefits of solar energy are “a positive side effect” for the UAE rather than the primary motive for adopting them, Woertz said.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and four other Gulf states are to set up a commission to study the use of nuclear power for electricity generation, their heads of state said in a communiqué in December after a summit in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is considering a Russian offer to help it acquire nuclear technology, Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal said earlier this month.
Global spending on clean energy projects harnessing the power of wind, sun and water surged to more than US$100 billion (Dh367.23bn) for the first time last year, Ernst & Young said in report. Demand for energy from renewable sources is rising as governments introduce laws to help curb greenhouse gas emissions. (Bloomberg)