Category Archives: Greening Middle East

Holy Desertec: $555B Solar Saharan Project Finds a Dozen Backers

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The Desertec project is a great idea. Solar Thermal has shown to provide the most efficient way to harness the power of the sun and to support sun-starved Europe from Africa makes sense.

Now to the business plan.

The technology behind Desertec.

Ever since the news came out about Desertec, a $555 billion project to build solar thermal plants in Northern Africa’s Sahara desert to funnel solar power to Europe, we’ve been scratching our heads about what to make of it. The sheer size (supposedly large enough to supply up to 15 percent of Europe’s electricity needs), cost and timeline (over 40 years) is so utterly massive and ambitious, the project will no doubt look very different when — and if — it ever makes it to light. But despite the “fantasy” nature of the plan, a dozen serious and respected companies have signed a memorandum of understanding today to investigate how to build the project.

Participants include German engineering company Siemens, German insurer Munich Re, Deutsche Bank, German utilities RWE and EON, Spain’s power company Abengoa, Zurich’s electricity grid builder ABB, Algerian firm Cevital, European bank HSH Nordbank, engineering company M+W Zander, and solar firms Schott Solar and Solar Millennium.

The group now has the overwhelming goal of writing up a business plan for a project that will involve hundreds of solar thermal plants and massive underseas high-voltage transmission cables spanning countries. The blueprint of the plan itself will take three years just to develop and incorporate under German law. Some of the German firms already did some feasibility studies to the tune of $1.4 million, says Bloomberg, but of course those initial funds are just a grain of sand in the entire Desertec.

via Holy Desertec: $555B Solar Saharan Project Finds a Dozen Backers | Reuters.

Interview with CEO of Siemens.

Löscher: We will be covering the whole chain of energy conversion, from efficient and environmentally friendly power generation via transport and distribution right up to end uses of electric power. Desertec is not just about solar and wind energy, it is also about energy superhighways for the low-loss transmission of power over thousands of kilometers and the management of such complex systems.

SPIEGEL: Some experts have said they think it’s not economical to transport solar power to Europe through huge distribution grids under the Mediterranean Sea.

Löscher: Energy superhighways can be both technologically efficient and economical. A few years ago we connected Tasmania with the Australian continent. And from 2011 there will be a 250-kilometer undersea cable supplying Majorca with electricity from the Spanish mainland. For us, this kind of thing is now part of our core business.

Woman wins seat in first-ever UAE election

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Women play an important role in the development of a nation. This is a good start for the politics of UAE, atleast symbolically.

A woman was elected to an advisory council in the United Arab Emirates in the first national polls in the Gulf country, in which only a tiny part of the population is taking part.Three-stage elections to fill half the 40 seats of the Federal National Council (FNC) began in Abu Dhabi and the smaller emirate of Fujairah Saturday, making the UAE the last Gulf Arab monarchy to hold a national poll.

Oil-rich UAE has 825,000 citizens, more than 300,000 over the age of 18. But only 6,595 of them — chosen by each emirate’s ruler — were entitled to vote across the country, including 1,163 women. The UAE, which has two women in the cabinet, has become the first country in the conservative Muslim Gulf region where a woman wins a mandate right from the first national vote.

Greening the Middle East

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The Middle East is known for its oil and Dubai for its shopping. A profile of the UAE is an example of countries from the middle east.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) economy is mainly dependent on oil and natural gas, which accounts for around 36 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The UAE is currently the fourth largest producer of oil in the Organization of Exporting Petroleum Countries (OPEC) with reserves estimated at 98 billion barrels (10 per cent of the world reserves).

The region is slowly changing its attitude towards the environment. Some examples:

Organic Expo in Dubai.

THE Middle East Natural & Organic Products Expo will be almost 80 per cent bigger next year as a result of bookings confirmed when the 2006 edition ended a three-day run at Dubai’s International Exhibition Centre yesterday (Tuesday, Dec 12).

The show has already grown by 100 per cent since it was first staged in 2003, with more than 300 exhibitors from 35 countries now occupying 5,000 square metres of floor space.

“The seismic shift to natural and organic foodstuffs and medications, as well as products such as textiles, cosmetics, and cleansing agents is a worldwide phenomenon that is gaining strength virtually by the day.”

Global Links managing director Nadim Al Fuqaha added: “Middle East consumers are always among the first to adopt global trends and this is very evident in the success of this year’s expo and the projected growth for next year.”

Water Awareness in Abu Dhabi

With water scarcity being an important issue across the globe, and especially in the Arab Region, this project will help bring a much needed awareness to the younger generation in the following countries: UAE, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, Kuwait, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia. Water and awareness experts from some of these countries also attended the launch.

‘The project’s aim is get Arab youth more interested and more active when it comes to water issues in their part of the world. By providing them with the right tools, training and awareness, the project will help generate a new generation of pro-active and knowledgeable youth working towards conserving the precious resource of water,’ said H.E Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD.

Sharjah Municipality launches ‘Bee’ah’, the biggest waste recycling company in the Arab region

A waste-recycling factory will be set up in Al Saj’ah area and will depend on the latest international technology in the recycling industry under the supervision of highly experienced specialists and technicians. The company will also set up branches in all other municipalities of the Emirate of Sharjah.

Mrs Randa Kamal Chief Executive Officer of JMS Property Development stated that: “Governments and institutions are set day after day to launch environmental programmes and projects aimed at seeking solutions as required for handling the increasing environmental issues, which our contemporary world suffer from after hving gone too far in exhausting its natural resources.

As a first stage, “Bee’ah” will collect, sort out and classify waste within the following categories: aluminium materials, plastic materials, all kinds of paper, glass and ceramic, building materials, iron and organic materials. These will be sent to the recycling factory, which will be operational by late 2008 after being completed according to the latest technical specifications under the supervision of a group of manufacturing and recycling engineers and specialists.

Even though they have arrived late, the middle-east is moving fast in this area. There are many opportunities for Green companies to exploit and make a difference in this region.