Solar energy in the United Arab Emirates: A review

Mokri, Alaeddine; Ali, Mona Aal; Emziane, Mahieddine

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2013.07.038

Cited by 104 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Situated in the Persian Gulf, the country experiences harsh climatic conditions for most periods of the year. Mokri et al (2013) highlight the electricity demand in the UAE has increased from 38.6 TWh in the year 2000 to 90.6 TWh in 2010, with an average annual growth rate of about 8.8% during the last decade. Between 2006 and 2011, the annual increase in electricity demand (10.8%) has closely followed the trend of an 11% annual population growth rate (Mokri et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Multi-criteria model for sustainable development using goal programming applied to the United Arab Emirates

et al. 2015

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Multi-criteria model for sustainable development using goal programming applied to the United Arab Emirates

et al. 2015

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“…Like other GCC countries, the UAE has huge solar potentials with the mean annual solar radiation of 2285 kWh/m 2 and average sunshine of 10 h per day [32,33]. However, high-humidity and dust particles in the atmosphere reduce the solar intensity [34].…”

Section: United Arab Emirates (Uae)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar Energy Potentials and Benefits in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Review of Substantial Issues

et al. 2018

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It is a well-known fact that the fossil fuel industry has dominated the economy of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries during the last few decades. However, recent developments show that most of the GCC countries plan to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) in their future electrical power production. To ensure realistic increase in the share of RE in the production of electricity in the future, firm policies must be laid down with the objective to promote and market the benefit of RE to their citizens. Due to the high-solar radiation in the GCC region, the focus is now on solar energy development. This paper presents an up-to-date review of the progress made on solar energy in the GCC together with the challenges and the way forward. Some of the challenges and barriers hindering the development of RE in the GCC are in the area of technological know-how, policy development, and insufficient application of RE technology integrated in the buildings among others. Areas of improvement include promoting research and development, public/private initiatives, legislation and regulatory framework, solutions to technical issues and exchange of knowledge, scientific advice, and last but not the least is the issue of building integration with RE.

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“…A number of authors move from the technical realm towards policy, and this body of research has identified four main drivers for a renewable energy expansion in the GCC (e.g., [7,10,12,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]): 1) Renewables could help to satisfy the rapidly increasing energy and electricity demand in the GCC, which is driven by economic and population growth, and by an increasing need for water desalination; 2) Renewables would diversify the domestic energy mix and free fossil fuel resources for more profitable export; 3) A renewable energy manufacturing industry, especially for currently immature but highly promising technologies (e.g., CSP), is an option to diversify the GCC economies, attain technological leadership and create new high-quality jobs outside the fossil fuel sector, or to offer a new energy export commodity; 4) Expanding renewables would reduce the climate footprint of the GCC countries.…”

Section: Drivers For Renewable Energy In the Gulf Cooperation Councilmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the desert countries of the GCC are highly vulnerable to climate change. All GCC countries are signatories to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol, which to these authors is a clear sign of the GCC countries' ongoing turn towards sustainability [12,17,19,20]. In reality, however, the GCC countries-some more than others-have slowed down the international climate negotiations [16,47], while not pursuing any type of serious climate protection domestically.…”

Section: Carbon Footprintmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lack of supporting policies combined with the very low, subsidized electricity prices (see Table 1) form a sort of "super-barrier": no renewables can compete with such prices [19,26]. Until recently, none of the GCC countries had a renewables support scheme in place [12,17] and the overall quality of energy legislation in general is "actually very poor" [22].…”

Section: Energy Subsidies and Inefficient Bureaucracy: Rentierismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Barriers, Risks and Policies for Renewables in the Gulf States

Lilliestam

Patt

2015

Energies

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Abstract:The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have both large fossil fuel resources and vast renewable energy potentials. Here, we investigate in a literature meta-analysis and a survey, whether there is a need for renewables in the GCC, what barriers and risks presently deter investments, and what possible policy-solutions could be. We find that there is a long-term need for renewables, to diversify the economy and prepare for a post-fossil fuel era. In the short term, two main obstacles deter investments: inefficient bureaucracy, and the combination of fossil fuel/electricity subsidies and the absence of renewable energy support. Removing fossil fuel and consumption subsidies or introducing a support scheme could make investments in renewables profitable. Eliminating energy subsidies appears particularly beneficial to the economic outlook but this seems particularly difficult to implement, due to the political economy of rentier states. Increased bureaucratic transparency and efficiency is needed, so that potentially attractive investments can rapidly and predictably obtain the necessary permissions. Hence, the administrative and economic environment for renewable energy investments in the GCC is not right today, and no breakthrough is on the horizon, but there is a range of policy solutions to enable investments in the future.

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Solar energy in the United Arab Emirates: A review

Cited by 104 publications

References 78 publications

Multi-criteria model for sustainable development using goal programming applied to the United Arab Emirates

Multi-criteria model for sustainable development using goal programming applied to the United Arab Emirates

Solar Energy Potentials and Benefits in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: A Review of Substantial Issues

Barriers, Risks and Policies for Renewables in the Gulf States

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