ENERGY RESOURCES: CHEAPER YET NOT AVAILABLE
Low Cost Power And it's Renewable Too
Cut-throat competition among manufacturers of solar panels has brought down costs of harnessing energy from the sun.
In today’s world, electricity denied is development denied. Sustainable natural resources such as solar and wind had a solution in store for rising electricity demand for years, but high costs of realizing the optimum potential of natural resources held back public and private investments.
However, the situation is changing, and its changing very fast. In the past 24 months, accessibility and deployment of solar technology has become cheaper by more than 60 per cent. With energy demand rising with each passing day, governments and stakeholders are looking to find cost-effective ways to meet that demand. Even oil-rich countries, such as the nations in the Arabian Gulf, are diversifying their energy production models.
Green energy for cleaner environment might not be the fundamental driver behind embracing renewable energy solutions, but the cost effectiveness of today’s sustainable technologies has surely found favor with governments and private electricity producers. The cleaner planet Earth is the bonus outcome of the current trends in the energy sector.
Analyst at International Renewable Energy Agency’s Innovation and Technology Centre, Michael Taylor, said: “We have had high potential solar energy technology for years, but the deployment costs were too high. Cut-throat competition among manufacturers of photo-voltaic (PV) panels has brought the prices down, and this is the biggest news for the sector.
The prices of PV modules have come down by 60 to 75 per cent in the past two years boosting the sector like never before, said Taylor, Irena analyst. “The dramatically cheaper prices are moving the market up to an extent where in near term PV modules are likely to give tough competition to institutions providing electricity. As a result, solar panels are being embraced by large corporates in their offices and residential developments across the world.”
Naturally, the investment in the renewables – solar and wind – is witnessing a significant upswing. The GCC countries have recently announced billions of dollars worth of investments in photo-voltaic modules, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the drive in the Arabian Gulf.
Globally, the investment in renewables is holding up pretty well, said Taylor, adding: “We had 100 giga watt of renewable capacity added in 2011, and we’ll see similar addition in 2012, which will continue in 2013.”
Both developed and emerging markets are investing heavily into renewable, taking a cue mainly from governments’ support policies worldwide. “Italy witnessed a huge spike in investment of solar PV modules last year, and China became the largest player in wind energy capacity. Beijing is also looking at massive solar PV deployment this year,” said the Irena analyst, while speaking with TRENDS.
“Currently, the global renewable energy market is around $300 billion. With the costs coming down, investments in the sector may appear stagnant, but we’ll see more deployments and a rise in giga watts capacity of power over the next few years,” said Taylor.
A ground-breaking report by the International Renewable Energy Agency found that the cost of solar energy, for example, has dropped below the cost of diesel generation worldwide for communities living away from the electricity grid.
Chief economist and director of global energy economics directorate at IRENA, Dr Fatih Birol, outlined the challenges by saying the global energy demand will rise by one third in the period to 2035, driven by higher living standards in China, India and the Middle East.
He said emerging economies underpin a 70 per cent increase in global demand for electricity, and China and the Middle East will account for almost 40 per cent of incremental gas-fired generation.
Presenting the Renewables Global Futures Report 2013, Institute for Sustainable Policies’ Eric Martinot said the future of renewable energy is fundamentally a choice, not a foregone conclusion given technology and economic trends, and that policies to promote the adoption of renewable energy for transport, industrial, building and urban are choices that have to be made.
Martinot’s report highlighted that the national renewable energy markets are projected to grow strongly in the coming decade and beyond. Already at a national level, at least 30 countries in the world have shares of renewable energy above 20 per cent, and 120 countries have some form of long-term renewable energy target.
“The projected levels of renewable energy investment are extremely high, expected to be half a trillion dollars by 2020 with pension funds and annuity funds emerging as potential sources of investment, he said, adding there must be a balance between renewable energy and fossil fuels.
The drop in costs of deploying green technologies is a boon for private sector players. CEO of German firm Heliocentris, Ayad Abul-Ella said: “The responsibility for the emerging markets’ need for energy should not be limited to governments efforts only. We rather see it as a collective responsibility of all stakeholders in the society.
“Sustainability conscious private sector companies can contribute to this cause reducing the carbon footprint by implementing energy efficiency and commercial grade zero emission solutions. To share our expertise in this field with leading information and communication companies as well as oil and gas entities and learn more about the capabilities of clean power technology for off-grid applications is why we are here.” All this is now possible because of cost reduction, he added.
Heliocentris has helped regional firms such as du reduce its CO2 emissions. The efforts included reduction in fuel consumption by one million liters and reduction in CO2 emissions by 2500 tons, from December 2011 to December 2012. With the continued implementation of those solutions, the telecom operator expects a saving in fuel consumption of 6.8 million liters and reduction in CO2 emissions by 17,000 tons by end of 2014.
While companies are employing mechanisms toward cutting down their carbon footprint, one of the challenges is to provide smooth supply of electricity to impoverished areas. And cost-effective green solutions would be playing a big role in achieving such goals.
In words of Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, electricity is the fundamental element in empowering millions of under-privileged around the world.
“The Arab world includes some of the richest and the poorest countries in terms of energy resources. This stark disparity is evident even in countries that share borders. Despite neighboring some of the most oil rich countries, my country, Jordan, relies on imports to cover 96 per cent of our energy needs. Our region is rich in the energy of our overwhelmingly young population, but poor in the opportunities we can offer them,” said Rania.
According to a Gallop poll conducted in 2012, in the midst of the unrest, the majority of Arab youth still place finding a job as their number one priority. “If we continue with business as usual, too many are unlikely to find employment in the next five years. But in the absence of long-term, sustainable solutions to our energy needs, progress will be slow and uneven. Not just in this region, but everywhere.
“Today 1.4 billion people, one in five in the world, still cannot access grid electricity. For a billion more, access is unreliable, and without sustainable energy, there can be no sustainable development,” she said addressing the sixth World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi last month, which was attended by President of France Francois Hollande, among other dignitaries.
Energy is humanity’s lifeblood; where it flows, prosperity burgeons. Where it stalls, the impoverished and disadvantaged languish burdened by multiple challenges, said Rania, adding: “The most crippling effects of energy poverty are felt by children. It is a cruel irony that those who’ve had the least to do with climate change and energy crises are paying the highest price.”
By Atique Naqvi | Dubai, UAE | Uploaded on the blog recently**
 |
| Solar panels have gradually become cheaper. |
In today’s world, electricity denied is development denied. Sustainable natural resources such as solar and wind had a solution in store for rising electricity demand for years, but high costs of realizing the optimum potential of natural resources held back public and private investments.
However, the situation is changing, and its changing very fast. In the past 24 months, accessibility and deployment of solar technology has become cheaper by more than 60 per cent. With energy demand rising with each passing day, governments and stakeholders are looking to find cost-effective ways to meet that demand. Even oil-rich countries, such as the nations in the Arabian Gulf, are diversifying their energy production models.
Green energy for cleaner environment might not be the fundamental driver behind embracing renewable energy solutions, but the cost effectiveness of today’s sustainable technologies has surely found favor with governments and private electricity producers. The cleaner planet Earth is the bonus outcome of the current trends in the energy sector.
Analyst at International Renewable Energy Agency’s Innovation and Technology Centre, Michael Taylor, said: “We have had high potential solar energy technology for years, but the deployment costs were too high. Cut-throat competition among manufacturers of photo-voltaic (PV) panels has brought the prices down, and this is the biggest news for the sector.
The prices of PV modules have come down by 60 to 75 per cent in the past two years boosting the sector like never before, said Taylor, Irena analyst. “The dramatically cheaper prices are moving the market up to an extent where in near term PV modules are likely to give tough competition to institutions providing electricity. As a result, solar panels are being embraced by large corporates in their offices and residential developments across the world.”
Naturally, the investment in the renewables – solar and wind – is witnessing a significant upswing. The GCC countries have recently announced billions of dollars worth of investments in photo-voltaic modules, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the drive in the Arabian Gulf.
 |
| French President Francois Hollande at Abu Dhabi Renewable Energy show. |
Both developed and emerging markets are investing heavily into renewable, taking a cue mainly from governments’ support policies worldwide. “Italy witnessed a huge spike in investment of solar PV modules last year, and China became the largest player in wind energy capacity. Beijing is also looking at massive solar PV deployment this year,” said the Irena analyst, while speaking with TRENDS.
“Currently, the global renewable energy market is around $300 billion. With the costs coming down, investments in the sector may appear stagnant, but we’ll see more deployments and a rise in giga watts capacity of power over the next few years,” said Taylor.
A ground-breaking report by the International Renewable Energy Agency found that the cost of solar energy, for example, has dropped below the cost of diesel generation worldwide for communities living away from the electricity grid.
Chief economist and director of global energy economics directorate at IRENA, Dr Fatih Birol, outlined the challenges by saying the global energy demand will rise by one third in the period to 2035, driven by higher living standards in China, India and the Middle East.
He said emerging economies underpin a 70 per cent increase in global demand for electricity, and China and the Middle East will account for almost 40 per cent of incremental gas-fired generation.
Presenting the Renewables Global Futures Report 2013, Institute for Sustainable Policies’ Eric Martinot said the future of renewable energy is fundamentally a choice, not a foregone conclusion given technology and economic trends, and that policies to promote the adoption of renewable energy for transport, industrial, building and urban are choices that have to be made.
Martinot’s report highlighted that the national renewable energy markets are projected to grow strongly in the coming decade and beyond. Already at a national level, at least 30 countries in the world have shares of renewable energy above 20 per cent, and 120 countries have some form of long-term renewable energy target.
“The projected levels of renewable energy investment are extremely high, expected to be half a trillion dollars by 2020 with pension funds and annuity funds emerging as potential sources of investment, he said, adding there must be a balance between renewable energy and fossil fuels.
The drop in costs of deploying green technologies is a boon for private sector players. CEO of German firm Heliocentris, Ayad Abul-Ella said: “The responsibility for the emerging markets’ need for energy should not be limited to governments efforts only. We rather see it as a collective responsibility of all stakeholders in the society.
“Sustainability conscious private sector companies can contribute to this cause reducing the carbon footprint by implementing energy efficiency and commercial grade zero emission solutions. To share our expertise in this field with leading information and communication companies as well as oil and gas entities and learn more about the capabilities of clean power technology for off-grid applications is why we are here.” All this is now possible because of cost reduction, he added.
Heliocentris has helped regional firms such as du reduce its CO2 emissions. The efforts included reduction in fuel consumption by one million liters and reduction in CO2 emissions by 2500 tons, from December 2011 to December 2012. With the continued implementation of those solutions, the telecom operator expects a saving in fuel consumption of 6.8 million liters and reduction in CO2 emissions by 17,000 tons by end of 2014.
While companies are employing mechanisms toward cutting down their carbon footprint, one of the challenges is to provide smooth supply of electricity to impoverished areas. And cost-effective green solutions would be playing a big role in achieving such goals.
 |
| Queen Rania says cheap electricity will empower millions. |
“The Arab world includes some of the richest and the poorest countries in terms of energy resources. This stark disparity is evident even in countries that share borders. Despite neighboring some of the most oil rich countries, my country, Jordan, relies on imports to cover 96 per cent of our energy needs. Our region is rich in the energy of our overwhelmingly young population, but poor in the opportunities we can offer them,” said Rania.
According to a Gallop poll conducted in 2012, in the midst of the unrest, the majority of Arab youth still place finding a job as their number one priority. “If we continue with business as usual, too many are unlikely to find employment in the next five years. But in the absence of long-term, sustainable solutions to our energy needs, progress will be slow and uneven. Not just in this region, but everywhere.
“Today 1.4 billion people, one in five in the world, still cannot access grid electricity. For a billion more, access is unreliable, and without sustainable energy, there can be no sustainable development,” she said addressing the sixth World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi last month, which was attended by President of France Francois Hollande, among other dignitaries.
Energy is humanity’s lifeblood; where it flows, prosperity burgeons. Where it stalls, the impoverished and disadvantaged languish burdened by multiple challenges, said Rania, adding: “The most crippling effects of energy poverty are felt by children. It is a cruel irony that those who’ve had the least to do with climate change and energy crises are paying the highest price.”
Comments
Post a Comment