LIKE UAE, QATAR & EGYPT GO FOR SOLAR

All over the Middle East and even in the Arabian Gulf region, the message is penetrating oil producing kingdoms' veiled perceptions: When the end of oil comes, either it is New Energy or back to camel caravans. Wisely, there are Sheiks leading the way to New Energy.

As a reference point on the urgency of the Gulf region developing other sources of energy, see the recent Wall Street Journal energy blog entry on the peaking of Saudi Arabia's Ghawar oil field.

Undoubtedly, Masdar is raising the bar in the Gulf region. (click to enlarge)

Qatar trumps Abu Dhabi with world’s biggest solar energy complex
04 February 2008 (Business Intelligence – Middle East)

WHO
Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Electricity; Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp (Salah Hamza, senior business development planner).

WHAT
In the same vein of realization that led to Masdar City, the UAE’s magnificent and ambitious zero carbon undertaking in Abu Dhabi (see ZERO CARBON CITY IN ABU DHABI), Egypt is building its first Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant (ISCC) and Qatar will quadruple its current solar energy capacity.

Masdar will test a breakthrough Japanese solar thermal concept called "Beam down." (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- Formal groundbreaking for Masdar City was February 11. First activity is expected in 2009.
- The Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant (ISCC) is Egypt’s first.
- Qatar will quadruple its solar capacity between 2011 and 2036.

WHERE
- Masdar City architects Foster + Partners are based in Britain.
- The Egyptian Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant will be at Kuraymat, 95 miles south of Cairo on the east side of the Nile.
- Funding for the Egyptian project comes from the World Bank.

WHY
- Masdar City is nearly 1500 acres. It will be the base of the UAE state energy company and will have a state-of-the-art research university as well as residential and commercial facilities. 45,000 will live there and 65,000 more will commute to it. It will have 130 megawatts of photovoltaic installations on walls and rooftops and a 20 megawatt wind farm. Surrounding land will have a biofuel plant, carbon-sequestering biofuel crops, solar and wind installations.
- The Egyptian Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant (ISCC) will have a 150-megawatt capacity. It will have 2 gas-driven turbines and a solar thermal plant using parabolic mirrors.
- Qatar expects to have 16,260 megawatts of soloar energy capacity when the current build up is complete. It currently has 4,200 megawatts of solar energy capacity.
- The Qatar development plan includes building a nuclear power plant.

Schematic of an Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant (ISCC). Gas or solar can feed the turbines. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Gerard Evanden, senior partner in charge, Masdar City architects Foster + Partners: “The biggest issue of all is to make sure that the city is balanced and will create as much energy as it uses throughout the time it is being built…The scale of the project will have the density of Venice, so it will grow gradually. Hopefully the knowledge and the technology of efficient materials will grow too.”
- Salah Hamza, senior business development planner, Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp: "You can have up to 500 MW in one place…Then you will need about seven sites because the total capacity needed at that time is 3,500 MW…"