Construction Middle East: Arabian Civil Engineers by GineersNow GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 014, Sau | Page 18

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Reliable and Cost-Effective Supplemental
Power Solutions for the Middle East
Electricity Sector
A reliable power support is key
The Middle East Electricity Sector 2017 Analysis
Electricity consumption in the Middle East has
been exponentially increasing in recent years,
and if this current rate persists, the region will
require several hundred billion US Dollars by
2020 to construct the necessary power
infrastructure to keep pace with its future
demand.
However, the current economic situation in the
Middle East is limiting the governments’ capacity
to single-handedly pour in the necessary
investment towards the power sector. Thus,
several countries in the region, including the
UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have endeavored
to unbundle their power sectors into separate
segments
(generation,
transmission
and
distribution) in an attempt to streamline
operations and encourage capital investment
from the private sector.
A reliable power support is key
Many of the region’s governments and private
sector investors have embarked on developing
new cost-effective, reliable and sustainable
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Construction Leaders • April 2017
sources of energy that have the potential to
dramatically boost the region’s power generating
capacity. For example, solar energy projects are
rapidly progressing in the Middle East, most
notably in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In
fact, industry insiders report that solar power
generation receives up to 90% of all government
and private sector funding on renewable energy.
It is therefore not surprising that solar power is
now approaching grid parity and is experiencing
phenomenal growth in the Middle East.
An example of renewable energy initiatives in the
region is Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s
(DEWA) concentrated solar power projects in the
UAE, which are touted to generate 1,000 MW by
2030. Most celebrated of these projects is the
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park,
which is expected to provide a dedicated supply
of 100 MW of electricity to the World Expo 2020.
In Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah City for Atomic
and Renewable Energy (KACARE) has committed
to construct up to 41 GW of solar power plants,
and invest in an additional 21 GW of wind and
geothermal power in the next two decades.