The past 20 years has been an exciting time for those concerned with the future of energy. Since 2006, the modern solar cell developed in 1954 has improved in leaps in bounds as photovoltaic technology increased their efficiency. The humble wind turbine is changing, too; this month China’s S2000 high-altitude wind-power airship successfully completed its first test flight, supplying energy to the ground from 2,000 metres up.
Given that it took well over a century from the discovery of electricity in 1800 to establishing the world’s first truly national power grids, the speed and scale of such improvements in just two decades are remarkable. The UAE has played a significant part in this transformation, a fact acknowledged this week by President Sheikh Mohamed’s reception of a Masdar delegation to mark the company’s 20th anniversary.
The clean-energy company has much to celebrate. Since its foundation in 2006, Masdar helped to develop the Middle East’s first concentrated solar power plant; since Abu Dhabi’s Shams facility came online in 2013, it has displaced 1.75 million tonnes of carbon emissions, the equivalent of removing 150,000 cars from the roads. From Scotland in northern Europe to countries in Central America and South-East Asia, Masdar has helped to develop floating wind farms and hybrid solar projects, some of which brought electricity to remote villages for the first time.
A wider look at the UAE’s strategies and mechanisms for transitioning to cleaner forms of energy shows that the push for sustainable power is no flash in the pan. It is possible to discern two decades of technical innovation, coupled with international partnerships and smart investments to make the green transition possible.
A recent example of this can be seen in India; speaking there this week, Dr Sultan Al Jaber – UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc and chairman of Masdar – spoke about the UAE’s supply of LPG as a cleaner fuel for cooking in Indian households. Dr Al Jaber also described how the UAE is supporting India’s clean energy ambitions through Alterra, its climate investment vehicle, with investments totalling 11 gigawatts across wind, solar and battery storage.
Of course, many challenges remain. One critical hurdle to be overcome is reducing the price of renewable energy for consumers. Writing in The National earlier this week, economist Omar Al-Ubaydli made the point that more R&D and technical solutions are needed to make green energy something that will make the average consumer better off, not worse off.
The consistent efforts of UAE-based companies such as Masdar and international organisations like the International Renewable Energy Agency, which has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, could be the deciding factor in making the clean energy revolution one that every country can benefit from.
That a country like the UAE, which has made the most of its fossil fuel resources, is driving cleaner forms of energy is not surprising. It is the very knowledge that such resources are finite that has driven much of its progressive thinking and action on this issue. Meeting the remaining challenges in the green energy transition will be the work of the next 20 years and beyond.
