Abu Dhabi: With oil prices currently below $50 (Dh183.50) a barrel, there is a growing urgency for GCC countries to diversify their sources of energy for power supplies, freeing up oil and gas for export.
According to Nigel Blackaby, director of conference for PennWell’s International Power Group and chairman of the advisory board for Power-Gen Middle East, gas-fired power will continue to be the backbone of the generation sector in the GCC for some time.
However, the emphasis is now on flexibility and diversification, with coal, biomass, and waste-to-energy solutions being considered.
“In the coming years, power plants built in the early days of the privatisation boom in the UAE will require modernisation, so the whole issue of service, repairs, and lifetime extensions will come to the fore. We may see the development of hybrid power plants that combine fossil fuels and renewable,” Blackaby told Gulf News via email.
Energy demand in the Middle East is expected to increase threefold in the next 15 years, far outstripping supply, with the region set to account for a large part of the world’s energy demand.
Upward trend
Data also suggests that the region will require $717 billion of investments in power generation in the coming years to increase the capacity by 379 gigawatts, Blackaby said, adding that, “the one constant seems to be an upward trend in energy demand in the Middle East.”
“It is possible to see a future where distributed generation grows in importance as it becomes increasingly cost effective for consumers to become self-generators with solar rooftop generation. Electricity is likely to become an even more important medium for energy delivery and electric vehicles could become common place,” he said.
As the UAE looks into expanding its renewable energy projects, and utilising nuclear power for energy generation, Blackaby said he expected that trend to spread in the Middle East as more countries look at growing their energy mix options.
“The Middle East is just waking up to the huge potential of exploiting renewable energy resources rather than expendable one. There is much scope in the region for improving the efficiency of energy supply and energy conservation,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) signed an agreement with ACWA Power for the latter to develop a 200-megawatt solar plant for Dewa.
Skill shortage
Mohammad Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of Dewa, said that solar energy will account for seven per cent of total energy production by 2020, and 15 per cent by 2030.
Aside from the technical challenges of growing energy demand, the Middle East is also facing a shortage of skills in the sector, along with challenges in financing projects.
Blackaby said that the energy industry should compete with the Information Technology (IT) sector to attract talented workforce rather than relying on imported labour and management.
Power-Gen Middle East is set to take place from October 4-6 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, and focuses on practical and technical solutions in the power generation industry. It has been held annually for the past 13 years, with the last two events being held in Abu Dhabi.
The event will be attended by Suhail Al Mazroui, the UAE’s Minister of Energy, as well as exhibitors that include Siemens, Masdar, Bahrain Electricity and Water Authority, and Chromalloy, among others.