Solar power best bet for brighter future: energy expert
The high rate of energy consumption in the GCC is not sustainable and hence the need to diversify and deploy the usage of renewables, particularly solar, Michael Kramer the energy expert at Dubai-based Taylor Wessing law firm, has said.
Kramer noted however, in a region where economies are largely supported by oil, things would not be expected to change overnight and therefore, “it is good that policy makers have realised that now is the time to diversify the region’s energy mix.”
In an interview with Alrroya.com, the energy expert cited countries that have taken long to develop viable renewable energy industry, particularly Germany, “and for that reason it cannot be expected that things here in the region will change immediately.”
“Energy does come at a cost and this proves to be true now even here in the Gulf. We are living in a region with the highest solar radiation levels on the planet, so including solar energy in the overall energy mix is an obvious choice,” Kramer said.
Currently, there are some medium to large scale renewable energy projects throughout the region that have either been completed or are in the development phase. Most of these projects focus on solar energy, which is available in abundance in the whole Gulf region. Wind is usually not so much of a topic, simply because there are not many areas which would have sufficient constant wind to run wind turbines efficiently in the region.
Dubai for instance, recently unveiled plans for a 1,000 megawatt project at a cost of $3.2 billion. The emirate’s Supreme Council of Energy said the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park would help to diversify sources of energy specifically by using renewable energy to conserve resources and protect the environment from pollution.
Lawyers Dr Michael Krämer
This interview first appeared on Alrroya.com and is reproduced with the kind permission of the editors.
