An investigation into the current utilisation and prospective of renewable energy resources and technologies in Libya

Abstract

With the increase in energy demand and the international drive to reduce carbon emission from fossil fuel, there has been a drive in many oil-rich countries to diversify their energy portfolio and resources. Libya is currently interested in utilising its renewable energy resources in order to reduce the financial and energy dependency on oil reserves. This paper investigates the current utilisation and the future of renewable energy in Libya. Interviews have been conducted with managers, consultants and decision makers from different government organisations including energy policy makers, energy generation companies and major energy consumers. The results indicate that Libya is rich in renewable energy resources but in urgent need for a more comprehensive energy strategy and detailed implementation including reasonable financial and educational investment in the renewable energy sector.

The Significance of Utilising Renewable Energy Options Into the Libyan Energy Mix

“…As far as renewable energy is considered, it is not a wellinvestigated subject in Libya due to the availability of oil as Libya is one of the leading oil exporters. Despite the fact that renewable energy such as solar and wind power as discussed next section is widely available in Libya, it is still difficult to break the dependency on oil and natural gas, not only for energy supply but also for revenues to finance the development of the society and the infrastructure (Mohamed et al, 2013). It is essential to map the current energy demand in Libya; this will be the subject of the next section.…”

“…In the meantime, the Science Publications ERJ energy consumption increased steadily over the past years and Libya has Africa's highest electricity Per capita consumption which was 5000 kilowatt h (kWh) in the year 2010 compared to only 2650 kWh in the year 2000 as show in Fig. 5 (El-Arroudi et al, 2009;GECOL, 2010;Mohamed et al, 2013;Mohammed, 2010).…”

“…The information currently available in the public domain regarding renewable energy in Libya indicates that Libya is rich in solar and wind resource (Mohamed et al, 2013). Libya is located in the middle of North Africa with a huge area of 1,759,540 Km² and a long coast of a length of 1,900 km on the Mediterranean Sea with 88% of its area considered to be desert where there is a high potentiality of solar and wind energy which can be used to generate electricity thermal, photovoltaic and solar energy conversions.…”

“…Libya is located in the middle of North Africa with a huge area of 1,759,540 Km² and a long coast of a length of 1,900 km on the Mediterranean Sea with 88% of its area considered to be desert where there is a high potentiality of solar and wind energy which can be used to generate electricity thermal, photovoltaic and solar energy conversions. Moreover, it has been estimated that every year, each square kilometres (km²) of desert in the Middle East/North Africa region receives solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of crude oil (Mohamed et al, 2013;Trieb, 2011). In general, the average wind speeds ranges between 5 and 10 metres per second in number of the Libyan areas.…”

“…However, one of the main renewable energy issues is the degree of matching between load patterns and renewable energy production. However, the demand of energy for air-conditioning is one of the main areas for energy consumption which is generally proportional to the availability of solar radiation during the day (Mohamed et al, 2013). The General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) has already begun contacts with international agencies and investors to use Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for renewable energy growth.…”