Sean Evers, Managing Partner of The GulfIntelligence.com and VahidFotuhi, Chairman of the Emirates Solar Industry Association speak about the effect of the Greece crisis on oil prices, the IEA's move to release strategic oil reserves onto the markets and the wider implications of this plus solar energy amongst others
IRENA, Abu Dhabi deal hinges on Masdar success -by Utilities ME Staff on Nov 15, Masdar fails, IRENA may leave Abu Dhabi, says author Jim Krane. Abu Dhabi may lose its role as host to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) if the city's clean energy project, Masdar, fails to live up to its promises, author Jim Krane said. "Their continued presence kind of hinges on this renewable project," He told Arabian Business on the sidelines of an event in Dubai. "Abu Dhabi's environmental record is pretty appalling, so without having this renewable energy initiative there isn't a great argument for having this renewable energy agency setting up shop in the emirate," Krane, a former fellow at Dubai School of Government, said. The UAE capital lobbied fiercely to host IRENA's headquarters in 2009, beating three European countries including Austria and Germany. The win was based in part on expectations the estimated US$22 billion state-owned Masdar City project would overhaul Abu Dhabi's record on energy consumption. However, Krane said the project was unlikely to rein in the emirate's carbon footprint, which he cited as being the second worst in the world, per capita.
Abu Dhabi : Energy subsidy cuts will avoid wastage - Adnan Amin, interim director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) told Gulf News. " Energy subsidy cuts will avoid wastage - Change in consumption patterns needed. In the face of impending change in the energy sector, a gradual reduction in energy subsidies might be the key to changing individual behaviour, a senior renewable energy official said in the capital yesterday. This change in individual patterns of energy consumption is especially necessary now that the world has reached certain natural limits of sustainability, Adnan Amin, interim director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) told Gulf News. "People need to take their use of energy and water seriously, given the climate change and resource depletion the world is facing. In the UAE, where consumption of both is highly subsidised, a progressive reduction in subsidies, although unpopular with people, will signal that they need to reduce their consumption or prevent wastage of water and energy," Amin said. "In addition, the Middle East is also displaying a remarkable resurgence of interest in the opportunities presented by renewable energy," he added.
Solar energy could pay for itself - and turn a profit - Martin Croucher, Jul 3, 2011 - The National "DUBAI : Homes and businesses with solar panels could soon provide energy for the rest of Dubai - and perhaps even get paid for it. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) is planning to recruit international consultants to look into the viability of such a plan. Saeed Al Tayer, the chief executive of Dewa, did not say whether that would happen in Dubai, saying a study was needed because such a scheme was yet to used in the Middle East. "We need to have a specialised study in this respect," he said. "We have to get the legal and financial infrastructure in place in order to be prepared for solar customers."The authority has set itself a target of getting 5 per cent of its energy from solar power by 2030. Feed-in tariffs are already used in more than 50 countries and throughout the European Union.
In a sentiment reflected at the Intersolar North America conference, SunPower President Emeritus Richard Swanson said one of the key issues is cost reduction. "I really do think that one of the big issues facing us a community is bridging between where we are today, which in the U.S. is dependent on subsidies, to where we don't need any subsidies and helping cross that chasm. To do that it's really important for policy makers to understand the issues that face the energy sector," he said. "For example, with global warming, we're trying get our arms around how we're going to treat that as a global society." But the negative press from skeptics also is an outsized voice that's impacting the wider spread of solar, according to Swanson. "It seems to me almost a concerted effort on part of certain industries or media to distort or discredit solar. I don't understand it. It'd be great to have some clarity," he said.
For instance, Power Hungry, a book by Wall Street Journal contributor Robert Bryce, contended that the average power density in a solar plant is 6.7 watts per square meter, while nuclear power plants had an average power density of 50 to 60 watts per square meter. But when Swanson did research into the sources, he claims he found the information unverifiable. However, Christina Honsberg, a professor with the University of Arizona's Global Institute of Sustainability found that photovoltaic plants produce more energy per unit area than nuclear, when they're compared, according to Swanson.
The National "Challenge ahead for solar power in the Gulf . They are a privileged bunch, having secured jobs in the only factory to make solar panels in the region. The only problem is Microsol cannot find customers in its home country and must instead send its supplies as far as Australia and Germany. "We've created the largest solar panel plant in the UAE, but we are not selling in the UAE itself," said Jayaraman Vishwanathan, the director of finance at Microsol. "Solar is expensive, right? This cannot succeed without government support." Microsol's predicament is a reflection of the obstacles to clean power across the Gulf. Incentives for renewable energy and lower subsidies for fossil fuels have helped solar and wind power to flourish in nations such as Germany and the Netherlands. In the Gulf region, governments have announced renewable energy targets but have yet to come through with regulations to make them economically sustainable. That hinders the local market, a problem in the manufacturing industry, where it is more efficient to produce near the customer base - particularly if the goal is sustainability. Masdar, Abu Dhabi's clean energy company, has had to shelve plans for a solar panel factory in the emirate for those reasons.
MEED: Nour 1 Project - Masdar prequalifies 14 for Noor 1 solar project
Photovoltaic plant will not to be tendered as an independent power project
Abu Dhabi Future Engergy Company (Masdar) has prequalified to 14 companies to bid for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract on its third solar project. The prequalification ends speculation that the Noor 1 100MW photovoltaic plant (PV) would be tendered as an independent power project (IPP), as had been the case with Masdar's other large-scale solar project, Shams. The companies that have prequalified are:
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