UAE at forefront of clean energy campaign

I've been watching the United Arab Emirates bid to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) over the past few weeks, but for the life of me I have a hard time deciding if it is a very good, or a very bad, idea.

Ok, I'll admit when I first read the news my initial reaction was "what the heck is Irena?"

Since the agency was just founded in Germany in January, that is a pretty understandable reaction.

Ideally, Irena wants to become the renewable energy version of the International Atomic Energy Agency - sort of a go-to information clearing house focused on the green rather than the radioactive.

At least 77 nations are already on board, including the UAE, Bahrain and a host of other African and Middle Eastern countries.

Who isn't playing ball is also notable, since France is the only permanent Security Council member nation to sign up. That leaves out energy sinks China and the United States, as well as the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom.

Energy producing giants Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are absent as well.

Despite the absence of some power players, a three-way struggle for Irena's headquarters is already underway between the UAE, Germany and Spain.

I have to say, I'm going to write Spain off almost immediately as anything other than an alternative venue if the battle between Germany and the UAE gets too heated. The Mediterranean nation doesn't have the long history of renewable energy development that Germany boasts or the energy resources and newfound drive of the UAE.

So, lets take a look at Germany.

The main selling point is this European nation's long history of pushing, sometimes very aggressively, a powerful clean energy agenda.

Not only is there a political Green Party, it wields a fair amount of power. The German government has set aside 800 million euros for development of alternative energy sources and has also passed a law that will phase out all nuclear reactors by 2020 - just 11 and a half years down the road.

According to some reports, Germany is also the world's largest producer of solar energy and the fastest growing market for solar products.

Many alternative energy developers and product manufacturers also call Germany their home. But that might be a little inappropriate if Irena was also located there.

The UAE's bid is getting support for that reason alone.

The UAE government wants Irena to call the Abu Dhabi-based, zero carbon Masdar City forward as a prime candidate.

There is little question the UAE, with one eye on the fact that fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource, is trying to build up its alternative energy credentials. There is even a plan for a school, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, dedicated to alternative energy research.

But development projects like the massive indoor Snowdome - which will bring to two the nation's indoor, and extremely air conditioned ski slopes - may not help the UAE make its case.

The UAE does have location, location, location, however.

The UAE is much closer to developing nations in both Africa and Asia, which would probably stand to benefit the most from alternative energy development.

And there is one last factor. Currently, no international agency is headquartered in the Arab world.

Irena could change that.

Member nations are set to meet in Egypt this June to iron out which nation will win.

- The writer is a freelance journalist based in Alaska, USA.