POWER July 2014 - 37

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Table 1. Installed renewable capacity in the Middle East. Source: REN21
Installed
capacity (MW)
Oman
Palestine*
Yemen
Kuwait
Bahrain
Saudi Arabia
Jordan*
Qatar
UAE
Lebanon*
Israel*
Syria
Iraq
Iran
PV
0.7d
1b
1.5b
1.8d
5c
7a
1.6b
1.2d
22.5b
1b
269b
0.84d
3.5e
4.3d
CSP Wind
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
0b
100a
0c
0c
0c
0c
17c
0c
0c
0c
0.5b
0c
1.4b
0b
0c
0.5b
6c
0c
0c
91b
for the 21st Century (REN21), a global policy
research network, and the International Renewable
Energy Agency concur that progress
is happening rapidly. One factor spurring a
dynamic shift in the policy landscape across
the region is the establishment or expansion
of regional cooperation and institutional activities
related to enhancing energy and water
supply sustainability.
Recent years, for example, have seen the
founding of the Masdar renewable energy
development and investment cluster in Abu
Dhabi and the King Abdullah City for Atomic
and Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, at least 12 of the 14 Middle Eastern
countries, both net oil-exporting and net
oil-importing, have renewable energy targets
(Table 1).
Some are staggering: Saudi Arabia alone
is looking to add 54 GW of renewables by
2032 to replace an estimated 23% to 30%
share in total primary energy supply (see
sidebar " Saudi Arabia's Planned Transformation " ).
Several countries also have net metering
in place or capital subsidies and tax or
production credits or reductions, and most
rely on either direct or indirect public funding
or public competitive bidding processes
for fixed quantities of renewable energy.
REN21 reports that investment trends
in the region are healthy, despite a global
downturn. New investment in renewables in
the Middle East and North Africa combined
totaled $2.9 billion in 2012, an increase of
July 2014 | POWER
Biomass/
Waste
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
3.5b
40b
3b
0c
27b
0c
0c
0c
Geothermal Hydro
0c
0c
0.023b
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
0b
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
0c
0d
0c
0c
0c
0c
10b
0b
0c
282b
7e
1,151d
1,864b
9,500b
Total
Renewable target(s)
0.70 200 MW targeted total installed PV capacity
1.02 20% of total electricity consumption by 2020
1.50 15% of total electricity by 2025
1.80 10% of total electricity consumption by 2020, 15%
by 2030
5.50 NA
7.00 23%-30% targeted share of renewables in total
primary energy supply by 2032
16.50 1 GW renewable capacity by 2018
41.20 10% targeted share of replaced energy used for
power and desalination with solar power by 2018
125.50 7% of total capacity by 2020 (Abu Dhabi); 5% of
total consumption by 2030 (Dubai)
283.50 12% of total electricity consumption by 2020
309.00 10% of total electricity consumption by 2020
1,151.84 195 MW target of PV and wind in primary energy
by 2015
1,867.50 450 MW additional renewable capacity by 2017
9,612.30 NA
Notes: a = 2013, b = 2012, c = 2011, d = 2010, e = 2009. All countries are net oil-exporting, with the exception of those marked with an asterisk.
almost 40% over 2011, and a 6.5-fold increase
from 2004. Yet, that progress could
be hindered by a number of challenges, it
warns, including the region's susceptibility
to political unrest, financial uncertainty, and
policy risk.
Nuclear Possibilities
Considering those risks, it is significant that
several countries in the Middle East-among
them, the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and to a
lesser extent, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain-are
actively considering starting nuclear
programs for power and water supply.
In a 2008 independently published comprehensive
policy on nuclear energy, the gasrich
UAE dismissed coal as an option to meet
projected escalating power demand because
of its environmental and energy security implications.
In an explanation that has since
been echoed by the region's other countries,
the UAE said nuclear emerged as a " proven,
environmentally promising and commercially
competitive option. "
Today, after accepting a $20 billion bid
from a South Korean consortium to build
four nuclear reactors-a total of 5.6 GW-
two are already under construction at UAE's
Barakah site in Abu Dhabi (Figure 1). The
UAE hopes to have all four 1.4-GW APR1400
units producing power by 2020 and
plans to export power to Gulf neighbors via
the regional power grid. Uniquely, the UAE
offset delays to a construction start by offerwww.powermag.com
37
ing
joint-venture agreements to foreign investors
for the construction and operation of
future nuclear plants, and it plans to manage
its nuclear power program based on contractor
services, rather than indigenous expertise.
It also concluded long-term agreements for
the supply of nuclear fuel. The plants will,
for the most part, be financed by the state and
Korean equity partners.
The Barakah reactors won't be the first in the
region. That honor goes to Iran's controversial
Bushehr reactor. Construction was suspended
in 1979, resumed in 1994, and the plant began
commercial operation in late 2013, reconfigured
as a VVER-1000 by Russia's Atomstroyexport.
1. Nuclear option. In August 2012, the
United Arab Emirates became the world's
first " newcomer " in 27 years to start nuclear
power plant construction when it began work
on Barakah 1. Today, two of four planned APR1400
reactors are under construction there,
slated to come online by 2020. Courtesy:
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp.

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POWER July 2014

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