• Home
• /
• Business

Solar power could boost Sharjah’s energy security

DUBAI — Sharjah finally broke its syndrome of denial over its energy crisis recently and issued an apology to the public. It came as a welcome respite during a summer of discontent for residents.

The Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) went further and informed the Sharjah Executive Council about efforts to break the annual cycle of power disruptions. According to estimates by Frost & Sullivan, the energy-hungry emirate needs 2,000 MW of power daily and it should seriously pursue alternative sources like solar and wind energy.

Demand is expected to soar to 5,181 MW by 2025 riding on a rising population, not to forget the emirate is home to around 40 per cent of the UAE’s industries. It has reserves of around 1.5bn barrels of oil and some 303bn cubic metres of natural gas, which may be insufficient to meet the needs of an expanding economy.

Abhay Bhargava, Industry Manager, Energy & Power Systems Practice, MENA, Frost & Sullivan, says that in the short term the emirate is expected to rely on Abu Dhabi to fuel its demand for electricity.

“Sharjah is currently having an energy requirement of close to 2,000 MW — however, its issues are primarily relating to feedstock shortages, and as a result, it has been resorting to burning fuel oil for generation purposes,” he says.

The future lies in alternative power sources. “Diesel is a stop-gap arrangement for Sharjah. It has to look at alternative sources — otherwise, it will have to make do by becoming dependant on Abu Dhabi in the long term.”

Abu Dhabi, on the other hand, is on track to generate nuclear power, which will put all the emirates and the GCC states on the interconnection grid.

The UAE on the whole needs between 16,000 and 17,000 MW as per current estimates. In the future, the energy mix for the UAE is likely to predominantly include gas-steam, renewables, nuclear and some crude or fuel oil.

But how does the UAE want to proceed with the overall energy scenario? Private participation, grid connected renewables and pricing are issues that need to be sorted out. Policies must be created that can form a supporting infrastructure for the energy sector to progress. “For example, peak load pricing, feed in tariffs, and demand response management are some areas that need to be looked at,” says Bhargava.

Efficiency is the key for the region and the UAE in particular, and this applies to generation, transmission and distribution, and consumption of power.

As for the GCC, overall peak demand is expected to reach 160GW by 2020 as populations swell and businesses boom. The major source of energy will continue to be gas-steam, with renewable energy on the horizon. Among these, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) seems a valid option, according to Frost & Sullivan, where lenses or mirrors are used to direct a large area of sunlight to a small area. Electricity is produced when the concentrated light hits the photovoltaic surfaces.

A study done by Greenpeace International, the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association, and the International Energy Agency’s SolarPACES group found that concentrated solar power could make up 25 per cent of the world’s energy needs by 2050.

Millions of new jobs could be created and it is expected to slash carbon emissions. The International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi sees this as a thrust area. There’s also nuclear power which the UAE capital is trying to harness. Crude is being used in Saudi Arabia and Sharjah, while some countries are considering coal as a sources. However, no projects have been announced yet.

“For the GCC, solar will be the predominant source, with wind and hydro playing significantly smaller roles. Within Solar, we expect CSP to be the predominant contributor in terms of grid connected sources.”

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s power crisis will likely be resolved after its upcoming power plant goes full steam soon. Bhargava is upbeat on other countries in the long run, which are not expected to see a crisis, provided the investment plans detailed by them materialise and renewables and nuclear sources are included in the energy mix.

allan@khaleejtimes.com