Implementing Renewable Energy in the United Arab Emirates - Research Paper Example

Abstract

In the last decade, the United Arab Emirates has mainly focused on industrialization to expand their economy. As a result, energy demand has increased placing the country as one of the highest consumers of energy in the world. With the increased environmental concerns on the effects of fossil fuels, the UAE has turned to renewable sources of energy. This study seeks to assess the use of renewable energy in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) and the plans to make solar the future source of energy. The research is qualitative and will be based on interviews conducted with senior government officials and experts in renewable energy. The information gathered will be analyzed and presented in a report. The paper is comprised of a comprehensive literature review, a methodology outlining the steps that will be followed to achieve the intended results has also been provided. The research outcome can be used for planning on future uses of energy.

Keywords: Ethnographic, qualitative, research, renewable energy, solar energy

Introduction

Aim

The aim of this study is to review the extent to which the UAE has been able to exploit solar energy and the future plans for the country in relation to the expansion of the renewable energy mix.

Objectives

• To assess the use of renewable energy in the UAE focusing on solar energy
• To evaluate the benefits of solar energy compared to fossil fuels
• To propose strategies for expanding the generation and use of solar energy in the UAE.

Justification

The UAE is recognized globally for its huge oil and gas reserves. In the last decade, it has been actively involved in the exploitation of renewable energy. The move to explore complementary energy in renewable sources has been driven by the increasing demand for energy and water (Pierson, and Heaton, 2014 p. 1). The UAE has also experienced increased economic growth and population explosion which have caused rise in the demand for energy. The country desires to maintain a strong position in the global energy market and has therefore diversified its energy sources to include solar energy (Islam, Alili, Kubo, and Ohadi, 2010 p. 515). The UAE is located in a region that receives large amounts of sunshine which makes solar energy an appropriate source of energy.

Literature Review

The main sources of energy in the UAE are oil and gas. They contribute over 99% of the total energy that is consumed in the country. Other sources such as solar and coal contribute less than 0.1% of the energy. Statistics show that by 2011, the UAE was consuming 87.2 million tons of energy annually (Ellabban, Abu-Rub, and Blaabjerg, 2014 p. 750). 35% came from oil and the rest from natural gas. Despite the rising energy demand, the production capacity has remained the same since 2001. According to Mokri, Ali, and Emziane, (2013 p. 342), the demand for energy in the UAE continues to double every 13 years. The UAE must therefore explore alternative sources of energy that are more sustainable.

The oil reserves in the UAE are ranked as the 8th largest in the world. It is projected that in the next 87 years, the reserves will have become depleted (United Arab Emirates Ministry of Environment and Water, 2014). Records show that the UAE produces 3.32 million barrels of oil per day which is about 3.8% of the daily global production. Even though 0.1% of the world’s population lives in the UAE, 0.8% of the total global oil is consumed in the country.

Between 2006 and 2011, the UAE experienced a population growth rate of 11%. The demand for energy during this period stood at 108% per annum (AlFarra, and Abu-Hijleh, 2012 p. 272). In 2011, energy deficiency rose to 11% and the country could no longer meet its energy demands (United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy, 2015). Approximately 37% of the total energy produced in the UAE is consumed in residential premises. Another 35% is consumed in the commercial sector while 10% is utilized by the industrial sector.

The high rate of energy generation and consumption affects the environment negatively. The high reliance of the country on fossil fuels in energy production leaves a large carbon footprint in the environment. In 2010, a report by UNEP ranked them first in the emission of carbon dioxide. A 2013 report by the UAE Environmental Agency outline the emission of greenhouse gases in various sectors of the economy (Hijazi, and Naser, 2017 p. 18). Electricity and water production were the highest emitters contributing about a third of the total gases released. Other large emitters were automobiles and metallurgical industries. Combustion related operations produced the highest amount of greenhouse gases in the country (Mondal, Kennedy, and Mezher, 2014 p. 467; Vidican et al., 2012 p, 180). The agency recognized the crisis created by over-reliance on fossil fuels and recommended the exploration alternative sources of ‘safe’ energy.

The potential sources of renewable energy in the UAE include wind energy, solar energy, nuclear energy, and wave energy. Studies have been conducted in different regions to evaluate their viability in the generation of wind energy. Today, wind power contributes about 2GWh of energy to the national grid (Rehman, Alam, Meyer, and Al-Hadhrami, 2012 p. 260). Four nuclear plants have been developed and set up. Each one of them contributes about 400 MW of electricity to the national energy coffers (Almansoori, and Betancourt-Torcat, 2015 p, 240). Plans are underway to explore the potential of generating renewable energy from the sea waves.

Solar Energy Production

The UAE is strategically located in a region that is well endowed with sunshine. As a solar resource, the country is located between 22130′ and 26110′ North and 510 and 560 25′ East (Harder, and Gibson, 2011 p. 790). Satellite images have shown that the region has the right seasonal conditions for the generation of solar energy. Artificial technology has been used extensively in the collection of data on solar radiation. Between 1995 and 2007, the technology was used to predict the duration of sunshine, the strength of the winds, and prevailing temperatures in Al-Ain City in Abu Dhabi (Charde, 2006 p. 34). The data was then incorporated into artificial neural networks to develop predictive models for solar prediction. Research is underway on the appropriate ways technology can be used to boost energy production.

Between 2013 and 2014, the UAE intensified the production of solar energy and was ranked third globally. During that period up to 140 W of solar energy was produced (Griffiths, 2013 p, 176). Exploitation of solar energy could save the UAE government up to 3.7 billion dollars in energy savings each year (Rohani, and Nour, 2014 p. 830). Several solar energy generation facilities have been set up in a bid to sustain the country’s energy needs. They include Shams 1 in Abu Dhabi which is the world largest CSP plant and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (Connor, and El-Khoury, 2013 p. 15). The government plans to build one of the largest CSP plant by the year 2050. The plant will generate 50% of the national energy needs.

Research Methodology

The research being undertaken is qualitative. A comprehensive literature review shall be a conducted as a prerequisite for the qualitative research and shall provide a steady background on the use of renewable energy in the UAE. Materials for the literature review shall be obtained from online databases and libraries. The databases from which the literature materials will be obtained include Google Scholar, JSTOR, Wiley Online, and Science Direct. Government websites and other sites operated by energy and environment regulation organizations will provide supporting information on the state of energy use in the UAE. The credibility of the sources shall be assessed before the information can be adopted and used in the research. The second part of the research includes an ethnographic study. A series of interviews shall be conducted with senior government officials and experts in renewable energy. The interviews shall be structured and standardized to ensure that the research interviewer collects the right information.

Research Design

The research is divided into two sections; a literature review and an ethnographic study. The literature review shall form the foundation of the study. Literature materials extracted from online libraries and databases will be reviewed before they can be used research. A systematic review approach will be adopted to develop the literature review. In the ethnographic study, a set of structured questions will be prepared by the researcher in preparation for the interview. The questions must be clear and precise. Each interview session shall not exceed 30 minutes. The researcher shall contact the respondents through telephone calls requesting for permission to interview them. During the interview, the responses given by the respondent will be recorded in note form. Information collected from the interviews shall be compiled and used to develop a final report. Possible limitations to the research include lack of cooperation from the respondents, lack of credible materials for the literature, dishonest respondents, and limitation in the scope of the research.

Conclusion

The UAE has one of the highest energy demands in the world. Heavy on fossil fuels has increased their carbon footprint thereby contributing to environmental deterioration and global warming. The UAE has embarked on a strategy to reduce GHG emission through the exploitation of renewable sources of energy. The current production and utilization of solar energy is significantly low. However, the strategies put in place by the government are likely to see solar energy production improve in the future.