Nadim Kawach, (Emirates Business 24|7)
Massive renewable energy projects undertaken by the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries could turn them into solar energy exporters along with their large hydrocarbon exports, according to a veteran Arab energy analyst.

“After oil, Arab countries could start exporting solar energy,” said Nicolas Sarkis, Director of the Paris-based Arab Petroleum Research Centre (APRC), which acts as an adviser to the 10-nation Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“The development of solar energy is rapidly becoming a priority of energy policies pursued by most countries in the Middle East and North Africa, whether oil and natural gas producers or not,” Sarkis wrote in the APRC’s monthly magazine, Arab Petroleum and Gas.

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He said that in non-oil Arab countries, the growing interest being shown in solar power and other renewable energy sources is dictated not only by the deterioration in their energy deficits and the insufficiency of their indigenous fossil fuel resources but also by environmental imperatives and the technological progress that characterises the development of renewable energies.

As for the large hydrocarbon exporting countries in the Arab World, the exploitation of their huge potential in the area of solar energy reflects a dual concern to protect the environment and prepare the post-oil era, he said.

UAE

Highlighting solar projects and other renewable energy developments in the region, Sarkis said the UAE has emerged as a pioneer in this sector. “Abu Dhabi has emerged as a pioneer with its famous Masdar initiative, the largest clean energy development programme going ahead anywhere in the world, with investments of more than $22 billion (Dh80.7bn),” he said.

He noted that several agreements have been concluded for the construction of Masdar City, including with BASF and Fraunhofer Gesellschaft of Germany.

Masdar, which is an offshoot of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, part of the state-owned Mubadala group, has launched numerous projects both in the UAE and at the regional and international level. Its first photovoltaic solar power plant, which has a capacity of 10 MW and is the largest built so far in the Middle East, was connected to the UAE’s national power grid last May.

Since 2008, Masdar has also concluded several agreements with international companies for the implementation of a wide range of renewable energy ventures, including one with German company Coenergy for a plant to produce solar panels as part of a $2bn programme, and an association agreement worth $1.2bn with the Spanish company Sener for the development of a photovoltaic power station, according to Sarkis.

Over the past few months, Masdar has also launched a number of other schemes. In particular, it has signed an agreement with Bahrain’s National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in that country, concluded an agreement worth €2.2bn (Dh11bn) with E.ON and Dong Energy for the implementation of the first phase of a wind farm in the Thames estuary east of London, in the United Kingdom, and embarked on the study of a wind power project on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles.

Saudi Arabia

“Another very significant example is Saudi Arabia. The fact that it is the world’s leading oil-exporting country has not prevented it from deciding to invest in the development of solar energy,” Sarkis said.

Under the terms of an agreement signed last June, Saudi Aramco and the Japanese refining company Showa Shell are to develop a pilot solar power plant that will have a capacity of 10 MW and is due to come on stream in 2011. Another 20 MW solar power plant is due to be built at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, along with a center devoted to photovoltaic technology.

For its part, Algeria announced in September 2009 that it was to develop a 150 MW solar power station at Hassi R’Mel.

Other Arab states

Other oil-exporting countries, such as Kuwait and Iraq, recently announced their determination to go down the same road.

Egypt is also planning to develop power stations running on renewable energies that will account for 20 per cent of its total power generation capacity by 2020.

“With limited hydrocarbon resources and rapidly growing domestic energy demand, all other Middle Eastern and North African countries are turning to renewable energies, especially solar power,” Sarkis said. “The most ambitious is Morocco, which in November 2009 announced a $9bn programme for installing renewable energy power plants with a total capacity of 2 GW by 2020, representing 14 per cent of the country’s total power generation capacity at that point.”

Tunisia, too, has drawn up a national programme, the Tunisian Solar Plan, which encompasses some 40 projects to be implemented over the 2010-2016 period under public-private partnership arrangements.

Twenty-nine of the projects are due to be carried out by private sector companies and the rest by the public sector, including five by the Société Tunisienne d’Electricité et du Gaz (Steg), which is to establish an ad hoc subsidiary called Steg Energies Renouvelables.

“The Tunisian Solar Plan calls for total investments of $2bn over the 2010-2016 period and is designed to enable Tunisia to reduce its consumption of conventional energy sources by some 660,000 tonnes of oil equivalent per year, equivalent to 22 per cent of the country’s total energy consumption by 2016.”

Mediterranean

In addition, the Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) launched in 2008 by the Union for the Mediterranean has given a major impetus to solar energy projects throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, according to Sarkis. “The objective of the MSP is to have a total solar power generation capacity of 20 GW installed by 2020, with part of the electricity produced destined for domestic consumption and part for export to Europe by means of subsea cables… the total capital investment required is estimated at €38-46bn during 2009-2020.”

Sarkis referred to the recent announcement by the World Bank that it would provide financial support to five Mena countries for 11 projects involving the construction of concentrating solar power (CSP) stations, which are expected to cost some $5.5bn altogether.

“Other financial institutions are expected to fund investments totalling an estimated $4.85bn in the region. The 11 projects concerned are to be undertaken in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia and will entail the installation of total generating capacity of 900 MW by 2020. More than 200 projects have been developed and submitted for approval under the MSP.”

Sarkis said the APRC would organise a conference and exhibition in Paris in September 2010 to examine the progress made until date and the prospects for the MSP. SlarMed will bring together leading players from the public and private sectors involved in the implementation of the MSP.

In a recent study, a veteran Arab expert urged Gulf oil producers to introduce incentives to encourage the establishment of solar and wind energy projects to ensure their power needs and save their hydrocarbon wealth. Waheeb Al Nasir, Director of the Arab Section at the Germany-based International Solar Energy Society (ISES), said he expected the amount of new solar and wind electricity in the GCC to reach 5,000 MW by 2015, including 1,000 MW in Bahrain, 3,500 MW in Qatar and 400 MW in the UAE.

But he noted such capacity remains tiny compared to what he described as the massive solar and wind potential in the six-nation GCC. Al Nasir cited figures by the World Energy Council showing the GCC nations would require around 100 GW of additional power production over the next 10 years to meet their demand at a cost of nearly $25bn, most of which is expected to be invested by the private sector.

He said solar and wind projects in the GCC, which controls more than 45 per cent of the world’s extractable crude deposits and a quarter of the global gas wealth, would allow member states to save their hydrocarbon wealth, expand their petrochemical industry, produce hydrogen for export and create jobs. “Solar and wind energy will also contribute to the reduction of the high ratio of CO2 per capita in the GCC. Using renewable energy will lead to prolonging the life of oil and natural gas in these countries and use this resource for petrochemicals industry or use it to produce hydrogen for local use and export,” said Al Nasir, also Economics Professor at the Bahrain University.

“Given the high cost of solar and wind energy, there should be an incentive system that provides a sufficient rate of return on such costly investment to encourage investors, ie, introducing Feed In Tariff and making the national grid capable to be integrated with solar and wind electricity.”

Key solar and wind projects in GCC

UAE

- Etisalat: In 1997, as a major project of etisalat, the UAE started the installation of passive cooled shelters and solar photovoltaic power systems for powering 33 remotely located island and desert-based GSM base stations. The project, valued at $10m, involved design, manufacturing, installation, testing, and commissioning.

- Dubai Civil Aviation orders solar airport: Green Energy, Dubai, has received an order from Dubai Civil Aviation to supply solarpowered LED airfield lights to be installed at Dubai International Airport. The order consists of solar-powered LED model A601 red lights. After testing A601 lights, authorities concluded solar-powered LED lights were ideal.

- Solar LED flashing beacon in The Gardens, Dubai: Green Energy LLC has been contracted by “The Gardens” a project by Nakheel, to supply solar-powered LED R247C flashing beacons for installation at their property.

Saudi Arabia

n Joint programme with the US: This programme, which is called Soleras Solar Energy Research American/Saudi addressed solar energy technological and economical related issues. Soleras began in 1977 and concluded in 1987. A second programme started in 1989 with the US Department of Energy.

- Soleras: In the Soleras programme, each country contributed $50m to the budget. This solar research funding exceeded all expenditures by Saudi Arabia on any solar research activity and the total international solar research commitment of the United States.

Kuwait

A systematic analysis was conducted to assess the technical benefit and economics of solar-based technologies to produce electricity, water and heating or cooling.

Solar cooling was found to save up to 50 per cent of electricity compared to the conventional system and much more, if the auxiliary power is supplied from PV source. Solar PV power supply can save 100 per cent electricity for off-grid applications.

Bahrain

- Bahrain World Trade Centre: The first wind mill installed in Bahrain was in the 1950s but the latest one was in 2007 and was integrated to a building, Bahrain World Trade Centre. It consists of three parallel wind turbines, each having a blade diameter of nearly 30m. The total power output of these three turbines is 0.66 MW. They cost only 3.3 per cent BD1m (Dh9.74m) of the whole construction cost.

- Alba solar water heater: The solar water heating system at Alba Healthcare centre.

Oman

The Total Renewable Energy Installation in Oman is 235 kW. Among these projects are:

- The Oman Solar System has designed, manufactured and installed solar lighting systems.

- Solar power supply systems for unmanned microwave telecommunications systems to Omantel.

- Pay phone booths.

- TV transposer systems MOI.

Qatar

Qatar had much interest in renewable energy. There were three published papers on wind and solar potential in Qatar. Also, there was a relatively large scale Solar Pond Project with, probably, not less than 10 kW power.

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Clean Energy News, Investment News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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Here’s a look at three technologies that California residents are using to cut their energy bills and turn their homes into clean mini-power plants.

By Chip Jacobs  6:57 PM PST, February 6, 2010

Not long ago, people who wanted to generate their own green energy at home had to content themselves with rooftop solar panels.  But new technologies — and hefty government subsidies — are now allowing homeowners to tap the wind, the Earth and other renewable sources in their own backyards.  

Call it the green evolution.

The cost of heating and cooling with fossil fuels has nowhere to go but up, thanks to rising global demand and increased regulation of carbon emissions. Turning one’s home into a clean mini-power plant is getting cheaper and easier all the time.

Here’s a look at three technologies that some California residents are using now to cut utility costs while turning their homes into truly green houses.

Small wind

Californians driving along gusty interstates near such places as Palm Springs are accustomed to seeing commercial wind farms, where turbines as tall as buildings spin lazily against a blue sky.

These days, a modest but growing number of people are using a downsized version of that technology inside their own fence lines.

Roughly 10,500 small turbines were sold to homes, farms and businesses nationwide in 2008, according to the American Wind Energy Assn. Though 2009 figures aren’t yet available, demand last year remained strong despite the recession, said Elizabeth Salerno, the association’s director of data and analysis. A survey of small-turbine manufacturers has projected a thirtyfold increase in the U.S. market by 2013.

Locally, some of the growth comes from companies eager to lower their electricity costs. In Palmdale, for instance, city officials are allowing businesses to install wind turbines up to 60 feet high. Among them is Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has a 17-turbine project planned for its Sam’s Club store in Palmdale.

But interest is also surging among people such as Ernest Ramirez. He and his wife live in Oak Hills, an unincorporated, blustery section of western San Bernardino County dotted with spacious homes on multi-acre lots. The couple weren’t looking to install a wind turbine. Their 3,250-square-foot home, which they purchased in 2003, just happened to come with one.

Ramirez can’t imagine life without it now.

Perched on a slender tower about 80 feet high, the 10-kilowatt turbine has three 10-foot-long blades that whip often enough to keep his power bills from Southern California Edison at about $100 a month — roughly a quarter of what he calculates he’d fork out otherwise.

Gusts are so fierce in this part of the Cajon Pass that they have been known to snap trees and jackknife semi-trucks. But Ramirez welcomes a bad hair day.

“When I get out of my car and it’s blowing 35 mph and I have to stay inside the house, at least I know I’m saving money,” said the 46-year-old grant writer. “Wind is such a precious resource.”

Ramirez said he could count seven neighbors with their own wind turbines. Still, what works in windblown, rural San Bernardino County won’t necessarily fit everywhere.

For a turbine to make economic sense, the AWEA said, a homeowner considering one should live in an area where 10-mph winds are frequent and be paying at least 10 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity. Permitting is also a challenge in many communities; some neighbors consider the spinning contraptions ugly.

The technology certainly isn’t cheap, running about $3,000 to $6,000 per kilowatt installed, or about $40,000 for a system large enough to power a typical home, according to the AWEA.

Subsidies are helping to soften some of that sticker shock. Homeowners can get a hefty rebate from the state of California — up to $12,500. They’re also eligible for a 30% investment tax credit from the federal government.

Geothermal

Solar panels and wind turbines are the rock stars of the renewable-energy world. But one of the most reliable performers is right under our feet.

Geothermal heat pumps harness the Earth’s constant, natural heat to warm and cool a home, regardless of whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. Around since at least World War II, the technology consumes 25% to 50% less electricity than conventional systems, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

These devices gather ground heat through buried pipes that form a loop. During winter, an antifreeze-type fluid circulates through the loop, grabs heat from the soil and transfers it to the home, where it is circulated by a fan through the ductwork or vents. In summer, the process is reversed: The pump draws heat from the home’s interior and dumps it back into the Earth.

Geothermal heat pumps are cousins of regular heat pumps, which extract heat from the outside air. The difference is that geothermal is more efficient because soil temperatures, even just a few feet underground, remain fairly stable year-round. Geothermal systems also have few moving parts, so they’re quiet and durable. They can be adapted to provide a home’s hot water.

Dennis Bushnell, a NASA scientist who studies renewable fuels, said that thousands of homeowners in the eastern U.S. already rely on geothermal heat pumps. People who live in warmer Sun Belt states could especially benefit from them, he said, because the loop works best when the soil temperature stays above 30 degrees.

The equipment is “not exotic at all,” Bushnell said. “You can go on the Web and buy one today.”

Now for the bad news: Upfront costs are hefty, sometimes twice as much as conventional heating and cooling units. But some satisfied customers say the quick payback time and minimal maintenance expenses make it worthwhile.

Among them is John Sergneri. California’s electricity crisis motivated him to install a geothermal heat pump on his 1,280-square-foot tract home in Petaluma. It cost $40,000, about $15,000 more than a traditional system. But it has slashed his utility bills dramatically.

Sergneri, an information technologist, plans eventually to install solar panels to further trim his power costs, because the ground pump and associated machinery, like many renewable systems, require some electricity to operate.

It’s all part of what he terms a low-cost, eco-friendly “retirement plan.” Sergneri, 58, jokes that it will yield a better return than his battered 401(k).

“My goal is to be as independent as possible,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of getting as far from the grid as possible.”

Though California isn’t offering rebates for ground heat pumps, a 30% federal tax credit is available.

Solar hot water

California leads the nation in using photovoltaic panels to generate clean electricity. A cheaper and more practical way to harness the sun’s energy is for heating water.

Solar water heaters typically require just a few small rooftop panels; they work even in chilly Northern climates. Yet the technology is little used in California, despite its abundant sunshine.

Officials are hoping to change that with subsidies to coax consumers to swap their old energy-sucking water heaters for efficient solar-power systems.

Last month the California Public Utilities Commission approved a $350-million rebate program. Californians can get as much as $1,875 for swapping out their natural gas units and $1,250 for ditching their electrically heated tanks. The rebates phase out at the end of 2017, or when the ratepayer-subsidized funds dry up, whichever comes first.

The subsidies are aimed at customers of the state’s large investor-owned utilities: Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Co., Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric. Some municipal utilities offer their own incentives, so check your provider’s website.

Buyers can also qualify for a 30% renewable-energy tax credit from Uncle Sam.

All told, that could amount to as much as a 55% subsidy for equipment that normally costs $6,000 to $8,000, depending on a home’s size and energy use.

Heating water represents the third-largest energy expense for most households, according to the Energy Department. If California’s solar water heater initiative succeeds, it could help reduce the need to build power plants and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Such systems are popular in Israel, China, Spain and other countries. Beginning this year, Hawaii is mandating that all new homes be equipped with them.

“Solar water heaters are the low-hanging fruit,” said Katrina Phruksukarn, solar water heating program manager with the California Center for Sustainable Energy. “They may not be as cheap as putting in a high-efficiency light bulb, but they’re about as cost-effective as you’re going to get.”

Technologies vary by manufacturer. One common arrangement involves a storage tank linked to a rooftop solar array, which converts the sun’s rays into electricity that heats the water. Backup gas or electrical heating kicks in if the temperature falls below a certain threshold.

Steve Glenn, whose company, LivingHomes, designs eco-friendly modular dwellings, has a system in his home that employs solar tubes filled with special oil. When sun rays strike the tubes, they produce steam that rises and transfers some of its heat to water, which is stored in an ordinary-looking 60-gallon tank. The water is then delivered to showers and sinks. Heat radiating from the system’s piping also keeps the floors toasty.

Glenn said the solar water heater, photovoltaic panels and other energy-miserly features in his Santa Monica home have reduced his electric bill to the cost of a nice lunch: about $15 to $20 a month.

“I don’t have to even think about it,” Glenn, 45, said. “The hot water feels like hot water. I’m not aware its it’s sun-baked and not natural-gas-baked.”

business@latimes.com

Brenda, Thanks for writing on this issue. I get calls around the country on exactly this topic all the time. Unfortunately experts in both the research and policy communities have separated energy efficiency, solar, geo-exchange, small wind, modular biomass, advanced batteries and controls and microhydropower into separate disciplines. That's good for better research and smarter policy but crazy for someone like you that needs solutions.

Luckily, the marketplace has evolved quite differently—and most of the distributors and installers in the good ol' USA (and elsewhere) look at the total building—including energy efficiency improvements and then the portfolio of renewable energy options for the consumer. Many blend these technologies, as I have personally done for my business where I utilize Unisolar's photovoltaic roofing shingles, Southwest Windpower's small wind turbine, GridPoint's advanced battery bank with back-up power by Plug Power's hydrogen fuel cell—and that's after installing R40 insulation, double-pane argon-filled windows, a ceiling fan, advanced thermostats, and a high SEER ductless heat pump.

The easiest approaches to find installers of multiple technologies is to log on the SEIA and ASES websites and click onto their local chapters. Further click on the companies in your region and see how they market themselves—you will note many are multitechnology.

Companies that join SEIA and ASES pay dues and are committed to the industry. These groups and the U.S. Department of Energy have developed another tool, found at FindSolar.com that enlists these companies and makes sure they have a history in the market and all the relevant certifications.

As I have said before, always ask for references, get pictures and contact numbers and call them. No one is going to protect you like you can.

Good luck and I am glad you are looking at the portfolio of clean energy options.

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