Dubai: Solar power in the UAE has the capability to outdo US and European targets of producing 20 to 30 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020, thanks largely to abundant revenues from oil, trade, tourism, and real estate to boost it, the world's largest solar panel manufacturer has said.
The Middle East's first 10-megawatt solar park at Masdar City in Abu Dhabi was connected to Abu Dhabi's electrical grid at the end of May this year, and is using power to finish the zero-waste, zero-carbon city's remaining construction phases.
Half of the solar park's 87,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels are thin-film variety supplied by US-based First Solar, while the other half are crystalline panels manufactured by China's Suntech. The solar farm is the Middle East's first grid-connected PV generation plant, and will supply Masdar City with 17,500 megawatt-hours each year.
However, renewable energy like solar will have competition from the existing highly-subsidised grid electricity for energy-intensive industries like desalination for example, and the UAE needs to bridge the large gap in the short term with a feed-in-tariff or rebates, said Nader Jandaghi, Middle East director of Suntech Power, the largest manufacturer of solar panels in the world.
"Solar-powered water desalination is a great solution for remote off-grid applications ... However, close to big-population centres like the city of Dubai, access to subsidised cheap grid electricity makes it more amenable to have traditional-powered desalination plants.
"The price of electricity from the grid in the UAE is subsidised to the point of being up to four-times cheaper than comparative prices in Europe and the USA," he said.
Yet with Abu Dhabi's commitment to sourcing seven per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, this will create a market for renewables in the capital worth approximately $8 billion (Dh29.39 billion) in the next decade.
"A Renewable Portfolio Standard [RPS] of seven per cent renewables by 2020 is a modest start, even if it is at just one of the emirates.
"By comparison, the European Union has committed to an RPS of 20 per cent by 2020, and the drive in USA is led by California which already has a 20 per cent by 2010 goal and trying to amend to 30 per cent by 2020," Jandaghi said.
"The UAE is blessed with not only abundant sunshine, but also abundant revenues from oil, trade, tourism, and real estate. Given these advantages, the UAE should put in place goals that meet or even exceed the Europeans' and the USA," he said.
Experts worldwide agreed sunshine and space are the UAE's biggest assets in terms of developing solar power as renewable energy however, this should be developed as a mix of remote desert solar farms, and rooftop and façade installations on residences and businesses that all contribute to the overall production of solar energy, Jandaghi added.
Would you switch to solar energy if given the option? Do you think it is a good substitute for traditional energy? Tell us below.
Your comments
The world has to move towards alternative energy as man will exhaust all the available resources for his comforts and wants.. so the whole world is going to be searching for alternatives which will suit their climatic zones with alternate resources.. The mighty Sun is always a big source in this part of the world and the energy to be produced will definetly help U.A.E planners to save a lot of Oil Resources which are being used for producing Power.
Lionel Rao
Fujairah,UAE
Posted: July 06, 2009, 17:49
really,solar energy is the best way.
Muneer
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 06, 2009, 17:34
An environment free of pollution and will definitely reduce the threat of green gases and rising seas , a gift for the generations to come
Safdar Zaman
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 06, 2009, 14:06
Solar Energy is indeed a good substitute for traditional energy, especially when you consider its green factor. I would certainly opt for it, the moment it is available and it doesn't burn a very big hole in my pocket. Above all... I am proud to be in a country spearheding the cause of renewable energy in the region and beyond inspite of being sumptuosly blessed in fossil fuel. By this, the sun will never set for UAE's energy requirement and economy for at least a century or so, provided science does not bring about another substitute to this shining example.
Reuben Smile
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 06, 2009, 12:34
I would absolutely switch to solar energy if I had the option
Mariam Sor
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: July 06, 2009, 12:22
Yes i would switch to solar, its the real step we can take towards, a better and with worth living conditions, planet earth.
Javed Qayyum Rao
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: July 06, 2009, 11:54
it's a great step towards saving the planet
Gaiti Mirza
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 06, 2009, 10:56
solar energy is a natural resource and it should be used as an energy, by using such energy one can save other resources for those countries which are deprived of such energy and they cant have alternative resources,it could be also helpful to be a green country without discharging the carbons for unhealthy envoirement.
Shahzad Shaikh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 06, 2009, 10:52
