Building a greener future

When the International Renewable Energy Agency – or IRENA, for short – chose Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City development as the home for its global headquarters in an announcement made last year, more than a few eyebrows were raised. For starters, it marked the first time an international organisation had chosen a city in the Middle East as its central base. Some critics suggested it was part of a greenwashing campaign on behalf of a small country with a massive carbon footprint. But perhaps more importantly, Masdar itself had not even been built at the time the announcement was made, with construction on the first phase not expected to be complete until 2013 at the earliest.

“An awareness as to their real renewable energy potential is still missing in many countries.”
-Helene Pelosse

None of which bothers the agency's Director General, Hélène Pelosse, who sees only positive benefits from the fact that the Middle East is finally showing a commitment to - and gaining recognition for - its role as a global energy leader for the 21st century. "Abu Dhabi was very motivated to get IRENA's headquarters," she explains. "With 98 billion barrels, the emirate is the seventh-largest proven oil reserve in the world, and I actually think it is very far sighted for such a major oil producing country to start the renewable energy transition and to so openly demonstrate its commitment."

In many ways, Abu Dhabi's carbon-neutral city of the future is the ideal home for an organisation geared towards providing a greener, more sustainable future for all. It will run entirely on solar and wind energy, and its 10-feet-wide streets will allow no cars, planners preferring instead to transport people underground and overhead via electric rapid transit systems. A solar-powered desalination tank will provide drinking water. The city's grey water will be collected and used for irrigation. Waste-to-energy plants are in the works. And if its self-stated target to become the world's first zero-carbon urban centre is realised, there could be no better location for IRENA as it looks to drive the renewable energy agenda forward.

As Director General, the French national is responsible for delivering on the agency's vision of promoting a rapid transition towards the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy across the world. She believes the decision to host the organisation in Abu Dhabi is already having a positive impact on regional attitudes to sustainability and the implementation of green solutions, suggesting that it has encouraged more people and organisations to embrace the possibilities offered by renewable sources of energy. Indeed, she feels the emirate has already provided strong support for the agency's goals. "It places the subject of renewable energy at the heart of a major oil-producing region," she says, "and Abu Dhabi is already showing the way by spending 10 percent of its GDP on Masdar, and by launching the first concentrated solar power plant in the region, a 100MW plant in the desert of Liwa, SHAMS One. This project is very symbolic of what the region can do; it is the first to be launched in the region, yet at 100MW it is one of the biggest of its kind."

Surprisingly, however, she dismisses the idea that the Middle East should become a leader in sustainable thinking and renewable technologies as missing the point. "It is not about leadership; it is about harvesting potential," she insists. "And the renewable energy potential of the region is huge. There is sun, and there is space, with the deserts. I was involved in the launch of the Mediterranean Solar Plan and I know that a lot is being done. Policy frameworks are currently being developed. And many countries in the region have set renewable energy targets." She cites Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which plan to include five percent renewable energy in their energy mix by 2020, and Abu Dhabi, which is aiming at seven percent, as great examples of the good work currently being undertaken, but maintains that this must be seen as just the start of a greater commitment to renewable energy development.

"All of the different types of renewable energy are underexploited in the region," she says. "The most obvious is solar energy, with the highest potential in the world. But in Africa, for example, only seven percent of the hydropower potential is harvested, and only one percent of the geothermal energy. Kenya and Ethiopia, for instance, are developing it but the whole Rift Valley could benefit from such development too. There are also some good spots for wind, like around the Red Sea Coast, for instance. Egypt already has 430MW wind capacity installed in the area and will launch four 250MW projects soon. And as for biomass, algae technologies are good candidates for the Gulf region to exploit; with saltwater and plenty of sun you can grow an awful lot of algae."

Renewable energy is one of the key solutions to solving the world's energy challenges. But while many countries already foster the production and use of renewable energy, adoption is still limited in spite of its vast potential. Pelosse believes there are a number of major obstacles to a renewable energy future. "First, an awareness as to their real renewable energy potential is still missing in many countries," she explains. "To develop an adequate renewable energy network, policies need to be in place, and then finance mechanisms have to be installed. Next comes the need for capacity building and training of people, and IRENA can help with that."

Another element slowing down the widespread adoption of renewable energy are the costs still allegedly attached to these technologies. "As oil is still heavily subsidised - more than US$550 billion per year according to the International Energy Agency - a lot of people still think renewable energies are expensive by comparison," says Pelosse. "The true cost is never taken into account, like the positive impact on environment. This vision needs to be corrected, and that's something IRENA will aim to do."

The agency recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, and Pelosse feels the organisation has already achieved much in the way of building the right foundations for future success. "This first year of existence has mostly been about building the agency and recruiting our experts," she says, adding that even so it has still managed to launch a number of renewable energy actions, such as the Tonga Energy Roadmap. "Right after I was elected, the leaders of these Pacific islands came to me for help with their 2010-2020 Energy Roadmap. This archipelago, like many others, is highly dependent on imported oil and needs to improve electricity access to some remote islands. With IRENA's help, Tonga has developed the 2010-2020 Tonga Energy RoadMap, which aims for a 50 percent reduction of diesel importation accomplished through a range of renewable technologies, including wind and solar, as well as innovative efficiencies. We will then use that work as a blueprint for other small islands."

As for the next 12 months, Pelosse feels that the coming year will see a number of new projects develop, predominantly based around promoting the idea of maximising renewable energy's potential. "Many people are not aware of the huge potential of renewable energy," says Pelosse. "Statistics focus on grid-connected electricity generation and miss the off-grid part - all the solar panels and mini wind turbines that power a house, a school or a village. Hundreds of thousands of these systems exist in places like Bangladesh, for example. Also, biomass is usually considered in statistics as renewable energy. But is it really renewable when women spend most of the day walking further and further to collect wood for their home, increasing deforestation in developing countries? Letting different countries know what their renewable energy potential is and telling them how best to tap into it is one of IRENA's roles."

Looking at different scenarios for renewable energy use will also be a key area of focus. "Too often, it is thought that renewable energies are mostly to be used for peak energy needs," Pelosse adds. "That's wrong. By combining sources (like hydro and biomass, as in Brazil, for example), renewables can provide for baseload demand, too."

Ultimately, she believes there are lots of exciting things happening everywhere in the renewable energy field. To quote one example: the International Air Transport Association (representing 93 percent of all air traffic) is working on standards to meet its commitment to use 10 percent of biofuel for planes in 2017. "If everybody wants to achieve a good level of development we need energy - and there won't be energy available only with fossil fuels," she concludes. "With renewable energy we have a chance to achieve that. It's our only chance."

SOLAR PROJECTS IN THE MENA REGION

• In Egypt last year, the combined Cycle Power Island was contracted, which is currently under construction and expected to start operation in 2010. A 140MW ISCC plant with a 20MW parabolic trough solar field has also been built
• The Tunisian government outlined plans to develop solar power capacity to diversify reliance on traditional sources of electricity. Over 40 projects are planned for the period 2010-2016, with 29 schemes financed by private sector
• Morocco is undertaking a $9 billion solar energy project, with five solar power generation sites throughout Morocco expected to produce approximately 2000MW of electricity by 2020
• Jordan has the JOAN1 project, which is expected to enter operation in 2013 and will be the largest CSP project in the world using direct solar steam generation
• Saudi Arabia is planning to make solar power a major contributor to energy supply in the next five to 10 years, and has already begun building a solar-powered water desalination plant, the first step in a three-part programme to introduce solar energy into the Kingdom
• In Abu Dhabi, a total of around 1500MW of CSP is slated for development by 2020, with the first 100MW already under construction at Madinat Zayed and due for completion in 2011. Even if the 1500MW is developed, this could be just the start for the emirate
• In Algeria, a national goal has been set to meet 10 percent of energy demand with renewable energy by 2025. One solar thermal plant is under construction, and two more ISCC plants, with an output of 400MW and 70MW CSP, will be developed between 2010 and 2015
• Syria's power demand is predicted to skyrocket and the demand pattern is shifting. Thus, investment in its electricity sector - together with a shift away from heavy fuel oil - is now the priority