Solar energy in UAE
The topic of energy has become the preoccupation for all developed and developing countries in the recent decades for environmental and financial concerns. Despite the different reasons, there is one solution which is to transfer to renewable sources to generate power. For UAE, solar energy is the main renewable energy that can be used. The United Arab Emirates used to rely extremely on fossil fuels for its energy, but for the current time, many projects are running out to use solar power as a way to produce electricity and many projects are planned to be implemented in the future.
In the past, fossil fuels were the only source to generate power and electricity in the country. At the beginning of his article “Solar power in the UAE soon to be more than a mirage”, Vahid Fotuhi showed the massive productivity of solar energy in Europe region compared to UAE in the past years and explained the reason behind that. A full adoption in UAE on fossil fuels to produce energy as natural gas provided throughout the day and not influenced by external factors w...
From the home to factories, families and industries are reliant on the use of nonrenewable fossil fuels to feed the needs of the everyday human. Fossil fuels are the main source of energy over clean, renewable sources such as the use of wind, solar energy, and water to power our homes, schools, and industries. In fact, about 85% of energy use comes from fossils fuels. The main reason being that using fossil fuels is cheaper than wind and solar energy. “For nearly two centuries, fossil fuels have been the cheapest source of energy” and widely abundant (Marburger, A global framework: international aspects of climate change). However, overtime fossil fuels will disappear due to the lack of time to replenish itself with the human races rapid use of it. Despite its current status of availability, there are many controversial issue in using fossil fuels; the most prominent issue being that it is the cause of rapid climate
How solar energy, a non-fossil energy resource, non CO2 producing technology, can disrupt man’s addiction to oil gas and coal and reduce CO2 emissions.
well. People are starting to question solar energy like is it polluting the earth? Is it really better
The United Arab Emirates is a very important oil producer making it one of the 10 largest oil and natural gas manufacturers in the world, and so it has a huge carbon footprint even with its low population (Todorova, 2013). The UAE’s dependence on fossil fuels to run cooling systems through the entire year, and the use of desalination plants to produce drinking water has raised their concerns on the environmental effects. With the rising costs of oil and their climate concerns the Ministry of Environment is determined to reduce energy consumption with any way possible (Ees.ae, 2013).
An important problem associated with the energy industry is a high level of energy consumption in the country. Government subsidized energy prices and carries an energy-intensive projects of industrialization and urbanization. According to the report of Saudi Electricity Company, in 2011 nearly a third of oil production in the Kingdom (8.5 million barrels per day) goes to local consumption. Moreover, the report's authors warn that if the consumption and production keeps the current level, by 2030 the country will be unable to meet the needs of the local population.
In this modern fast paced world that we live in, there are many issues that are looked over, energy is one of these. As a world, we are dependant on dwindling fossil fuel supplies and take for granted electricity, oil, and gas. There are four completely renewable sources of energy around us that should be used and developed, they are: wind, growing plants, flowing water, and the sun. These sources of energy are the ones we should be tapping, because they are reliable and renewable. Harnessing the suns energy is the most certain and ultimate energy source. Looking at a brief history and some facts about solar energy, a glimpse of the future can be seen, a future not dependant on fossil fuels.
Solar Energy Life is sustained by the energy from the sun. Without the sun all plants and animals would die. The sun provides 99.98% of the energy, which naturally flows through the surface environment of the earth. Put another way, the sun supplies 5000 times more energy than all other sources combined. This emphasizes the importance of solar energy to us.
Energy is the basic necessity of daily life. Nowadays, dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs becoming lower in numerous countries due to the potential of renewable energy to supply sustainable energy to the huge populations in many developing countries who are short of clean and continues energy. Generally, renewable energy can be defined as energy that is derived from natural resources which are constantly replenished and theoretically inexhaustible. Fossil fuels on the other hand can be described as energy that cannot be renewed and will eventually diminish. Thus, in many developing countries renewable energy is the alternative energy to replace non-renewable energy or commonly known as fossil fuels. In addition, according to Sorensen (2004), there is a greater demand for renewable energy sources nowadays due to the uncertainty of fuel price rise in living expenses. Commonly, there are many types of renewable energy available in our world such as wind power, biomass energy, solar energy, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. However, the main three example of renewable energy are hydroelectric power, solar and biomass energy (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, over half of the oil used in the USA is imported. Most of this imported oil is located in the middle east and is controlled by OPEC members. Subsequent oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession (Reduce). We may never be able to fully eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand (Reduce). One way we can reduce our reliance on oil is through investing in renewable energy. Solar power, wind power, and hydro power are all forms of energy which come from renewable resources. Unlike oil, solar, wind and hydro electric power is abundant and can be obtained locally.
Over the past 200 years, mankind discovered the fossil fuels and they used this source to produce hug energy. This affects the environment in many negative ways and caused many issues worldwide such as urban air pollution and acid rain, oil spills and the high temperature of earth. Saudi Arabia has the biggest oil reserves in the world by 19.66% (the world factbook, 2011) and the second oil producer country in the world with roughly 10.121 million barrels a day – which account for 12% of the total world production of oil in 2010 (Fontinelle,2011). Moreover, the country relies heavily on oil industry. And the most successful companies in the country are thus whose work in oil industry such as ARAMCO Company. The reason behind this success is because most of these companies get financial support and attention from the Saudi government and sometimes the government owes these companies. Because of the massive reserve of oil and the high income that generated from oil, the country has less attention to seek for other sources of clean energy such as solar energy and wind energy which leads to the increase of air pollution in the country. However, oil is expected to last in the next 50 to 100 years (Hubbert, 1956). Furthermore, the International organizations have made many decisions to protect the environment and environmental resource such as Kyoto Protocol which decided to raise the use of solar energy to 50%of the total global energy use by 2020 (UNFCCC ,2005 ). Recently, these issues lead the Saudi government to realize problems, such as air pollutions, and start to invest in clean energy area but not as expected. These days many people in Saudi Arabia argue the uses of clean energy and replace with the fossil fuels. And they d...
Preview: Today I will discuss the potential that solar power has to become this country’s main supply of energy and the latest research that can make solar power more efficient and cost effective. I will also present the environmental benefits that come with using solar power over other and more harmful forms of energy.
In addition, Malaysia also focuses on solar energy because of the hot climate throughout the year, which makes it practical to use solar energy. Its location in the equatorial region is...
Everyday life now requires the constant use of energy for everything humans do; from powering the lights, to running the dishwasher, and communicating with others through devices such as cell phones. With all of this technology the energy to power them currently comes mainly from fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, and oil. But what would the impact be if solar energy was used to replace some of those fossil fuels? A look at how solar photovoltaic (PV) energy impacts purchased electrical energy costs, capital investment in energy generation and distribution, and pollution related to energy generation and distribution in the modern world will show that solar photovoltaic energy has a positive impact on human lives.
In conclusion, the world’s advancement leads to a higher amount of energy used which sacrifices the environment and economy. In order to limit and stop that a numerous strategies have to be applied such as the use of solar energy, nuclear power plants, and hydroelectricity. Through these strategies countries will experience positive effects both economically and socially.
The world that we live into today affords us the expectation that the flip a switch will turn the lights on. As populations increase and developing nations undergo dramatic economic growth, this energy demand will only continue to grow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that “the world’s energy needs could be 50% higher in 2030 than they are today” (ElBaradei). Given this projected growth, it is necessary for world leaders must take action to secure the energy supply. Meaning that world leaders need to start seriously considering an alternative to non-renewable energy sources. “In 2012, the United States generated about 4,054 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. About 68% of the electricity generated was from fossil fuel (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), with 37% attributed from coal” (U.S. Energy Information Administration). The fossil fuels that are used to supply over half of our country’s energy are in finite supply and are increasing in price to astronomical heights.