Greentech Lead Middle East: The Sultanate of Oman has been ranked high in the Renewable Energy Readiness Index.
The Sultanate received 5.2 points out of a total of seven followed by UAE and Saudi Arabia with a score of 4.7 and 4.55 respectively.
The Middle East countries receive the highest solar radiation in the world. However, most of these countries are not keen to explore renewable energy sources due to their abundance in oil and natural gas. Renewable energy will prove costlier to these countries.
Oman has a high ratio of ‘sky clearness’ and receives extensive daily solar radiation ranging from 5,500-6,000 wh/m2 a day in July to 2,500-3,000 wh/m2 a day in January, giving it one of the highest solar energy densities in the world.
However, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has undertaken initiatives to address energy security and environmental issues at international, regional and national scales. According to the study titled ‘Renewable Energy Readiness Assessment Report: The GCC Countries 2011-2012’ most countries have not yet officially set their renewable energy development targets and are to implement yet stable policies.
Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait have all targeted 10 percent of power production from renewable sources of energy by 2020.
Read: China, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia set to become solar powers: Lux Research
“Clear policy and legal framework with a consistent strategy will ensure sustainable deployment of the renewable energy projects across the GCC region”, the report said. In the renewable resources category, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have received renewable-readiness scores of 5.6, 5.5 and 5.3 respectively.
The GCC has succeeded in attracting top researchers to address regional challenges and drive innovation through offering practical solutions. We hope the report will incentivize clean energy projects in the GCC region.
Good news is that the main oil company, Petroleum Development Oman, is exploring the use of solar technology as a next generation method. The first solar enhanced oil recovery project in the Middle East has been successfully commissioned at Petroleum Development Oman’s Amal West field in southern Oman yesterday.
The 7MW system is in regular operation and recently passed its first performance acceptance test since coming online, exceeding contracted steam output by 10 percent.