Gulf Construction Online - Renewables in limelight at energy event

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Middle East Energy ... to focus on opportunities in the clean energy sector.

Renewables in limelight at energy event

01 January 2020

The Middle East’s energy and utilities sectors are undergoing an unprecedented transformation, with the shift towards renewable energy and digital innovation at the heart of ambitious energy diversification programmes. As governments seek to increase energy security and maximise returns from hydrocarbon resources, utilities are pressing ahead with some of the largest renewable energy schemes in the world.

The push to integrate renewables into the region’s energy sector will form a key part of Middle East Energy, the new name for Middle East Electricity, the leading global energy event which has been bringing an international audience together for 44 years. Clean energy will have its own dedicated track at the event, which will be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and hosted by the UAE Ministry of Energy, Middle East Energy from March 3 to 5, 2020 at Dubai World Trade Centre, in Dubai, UAE.

Gareth Rapley, group director, Industrial, at Informa Markets, organiser of Middle East Energy, said renewable energy is no longer just a concept, but set to take centre stage at the region’s leading utilities event.

“Driven by favourable financing conditions and declining technology costs, renewables are being brought into the mainstream. Based on the renewables targets already in place, the region, led by the UAE, could save 354 million barrels of oil which is equivalent to a 23 per cent reduction, cut the power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions by 22 per cent, and slash water withdrawal in the power sector by 17 per cent by 2030,” said Rapley.

A number of milestones in the push for clean energy across the region were reached in 2019, including the commissioning of the world’s largest single-site photovoltaic (PV) solar plant, the 1.17 GW Sweihan independent power project (IPP) in Abu Dhabi.

Shortly after the commissioning of the Sweihan plant in March, neighbouring emirate Dubai reached financial close for a $4.3-billion concentrated solar power (CSP) project, the largest single-site power investment project in the world.

The drive to integrate alternative energy resources into utilities networks is set to accelerate in 2020 as governments seek to meet the rising demand for power.

Energy & Utilities estimates that installed power generation capacity will be required to increase 35 per cent by 2025 just to meet rising demand.

While the percentage of clean energy installed in the Middle East has to date been more modest, with installed solar and wind accounting for 2,350 MW and 434 MW respectively of the region’s energy in 2017, regional utilities are pressing ahead with some of the largest clean energy programmes in the world.

Energy & Utilities estimates that $100 billion worth of clean energy projects are currently in the project pipeline, with total investment in clean energy to exceed $300 billion by 2050 if the region’s utilities are to meet their ambitious targets.