Renewable Energy in the Middle East

by Mason, Michael; Mor, Amit

• ISBN13: 9781402098918
• ISBN10: 140209891X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-03
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Energy insecurity is not normally associated with the Middle East. However, away from the oil-rich Persian Gulf, the countries of the eastern Mediterranean are particularly vulnerable. Their fossil fuel endowments are low, while their fractious relationships with each other have long fostered wider political insecurities. Focusing on the Jordan Basin (Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon and Jordan), this timely volume addresses the prospects for the adoption of renewable energy in the oil-poor Middle East. Featuring regional energy experts, it offers an invaluable survey.After outlining the regional security context, this book first reviews renewable energy policy and practices in the Jordan Basin. It then considers options for greening energy use, including promising pilot projects in North Africa. The initiatives discussed encompass renewable energy finance, energy-efficient rural communities, and solar and wind energy. There is significant potential for an increase in the uptake of renewable energy technologies in the eastern Mediterranean. This window of opportunity has been created by high oil prices, energy infrastructure investment opportunities, and the UN climate change regime. In conclusion, the book considers the institutional conditions for collaborative decision-making on renewable energy. Such cooperation would deliver substantial security and human development benefits to the region, and indeed the world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. xiii
List of Contributors	p. xv
Abbreviations and Acronyms	p. xix
Introduction	p. xxiii
Science for security and the NATO Mediterranean Dialogue	p. xxiii
Environmental and energy security	p. xxv
Energy security and climate policy	p. xxvii
Summary of chapters	p. xxx
The Security Context
Enhancing Security in the Middle East: The Challenges of Regional Cooperation	p. 3
Introduction	p. 3
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict	p. 4
Syria: the way ahead	p. 5
The Iraqi situation	p. 6
Iran and nuclear proliferation	p. 7
U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan	p. 8
The Lebanese crisis	p. 9
Sudan and the situation in Darfur	p. 11
Terrorism and understanding Islam	p. 12
The importance of good governance	p. 13
Conclusion: prospects for regional cooperation	p. 14
Renewable Energy Needs and Strategies of the Region
Electricity and Renewable Energy - Israel Profile	p. 19
Introduction: Israel's energy situation as an opportunity for renewables	p. 19
Current and forecasted energy demand and its implications for the development of renewable energy	p. 20
Current and forecasted energy supply	p. 21
Greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions: current and forecasted	p. 25
The current state of renewable energy in Israel	p. 25
Barriers to renewable energy development	p. 30
Renewable energy policies and tools	p. 32
Background	p. 32
Renewable energy development opportunities - general	p. 33
Renewable energy development policies - the case of solar	p. 36
Recommendations for developing renewable energy in Israel	p. 39
The Energy Sector in Jordan - Current Trends and the Potential for Renewable Energy	p. 41
Introduction	p. 41
The Jordanian energy sector in the period between 1990 and 2007	p. 42
Increasing and unquestioned oil dependence: 1990-2002	p. 42
The onset of energy insecurity: 2003-2007	p. 43
Meeting increased energy demands: the move to natural gas and oil shale	p. 43
Present situation of the Jordanian energy sector	p. 45
The energy sector national strategy	p. 47
Renewable energy	p. 49
Wind energy	p. 49
Solar energy	p. 49
Bioenergy	p. 50
Other renewable sources	p. 51
Regulatory incentives for renewable energy	p. 51
Conclusions	p. 52
Renewable Energy Profile for Lebanon	p. 55
Introduction: geographical context	p. 55
The energy situation	p. 57
Conventional energy resources and production	p. 57
Renewable energy resources	p. 57
Electricity production and consumption	p. 60
The institutional framework	p. 61
Strategies, policy issues and planning measures	p. 61
The renewable energy institutional framework	p. 63
The status of renewable energy development	p. 65
Renewable energy assessment	p. 65
Research and development	p. 66
Current coordination and cooperation programmes	p. 66
With regional and UN organisations	p. 66
With donor agencies and/or countries	p. 68
Potential fields of cooperation with other ESCWA member states	p. 69
Energy Profile and the Potential of Renewable Energy Sources in Palestin	p. 71
Introduction	p. 71
Energy sources in Palestine	p. 73
Energy consumption in Palestine	p. 74
Energy problems in Palestine	p. 79
Renewable energy sources in Palestine	p. 81
Climate conditions	p. 81
The potential of renewable energy	p. 82
Market penetration barriers for implementation of renewable energy in Palestine	p. 87
Conclusions	p. 88
Greening Regional Energy Use
Financing Renewable Energy: The Case of Morocco	p. 93
Sustainable development: the case of Morocco	p. 93
Poverty, investment and energy	p. 93
Strategic priorities for Morocco	p. 94
The National Initiative for Human Development (INDH)	p. 95
Energy in Morocco	p. 95
Heavy energy spending in the government budget	p. 95
Energy consumption in Morocco	p. 96
Future energy projections	p. 97
Renewable energy in Morocco	p. 97
Starting from a challenging situation	p. 97
Government commitment to developing renewable energy	p. 98
The potential of renewable energy	p. 98
Government objectives for renewable energy development	p. 99
Financing renewable energy	p. 100
Incentives for renewable energy development	p. 100
Developing financial tools	p. 101
Public-private sector partnership model	p. 102
Creating a renewable energy dedicated fund	p. 103
The role of the National Office of Electricity	p. 104
Energy reform	p. 106
Energy in the capital market	p. 107
Conclusion: beyond financial policy	p. 108
Sustainable 'Green' Rural Municipalities	p. 111
Introduction	p. 111
Urban and rural cooperation to reduce carbon emissions through waste management	p. 115
Energy in rural communities	p. 117
The green kibbutz	p. 118
Photovoltaic (PV) systems in remote villages	p. 121
Concluding remarks	p. 122
Solar Energy for Application to Desalination in Tunisia: Description of a Demonstration Project	p. 125
Introduction	p. 126
The water situation in Tunisia	p. 127
The energy situation in Tunisia	p. 130
Conventional energy resources	p. 130
Solar energy potential	p. 130
The rural population in Tunisia	p. 131
Water desalination in Tunisia	p. 134
Water desalination: conventional plants	p. 134
Water desalination by renewable energy sources	p. 135
Solar desalination in Tunisia	p. 136
Experimental pilot studies of desalination in Tunisia	p. 138
Multiple-effect solar still (MESS) distillation project	p. 138
Experimental set-up RO-PV	p. 140
Membrane distillation pilot (MD)	p. 141
Comparison of the systems' performances	p. 142
The desalination demonstration project of Ksar Ghilène	p. 142
Presentation of the project	p. 144
Properties of the desalination plant	p. 145
The photovoltaic power station	p. 145
Control system: load management	p. 146
Results: performance of the RO-PV system	p. 146
Conclusion	p. 147
Wind Energy in Morocco: Which Strategy for Which Development?	p. 151
Introduction	p. 151
Morocco's energy situation	p. 152
The water situation in Morocco	p. 154
Status of renewable energy sources in Morocco	p. 155
Potential of renewable energy	p. 155
Current renewable energy measures in Morocco	p. 155
Potential benefits of domestic wind industry development in Morocco	p. 157
Proposed strategies for better wind energy development in Morocco	p. 157
Introduction	p. 157
Pumped hydro-storage plants	p. 158
Chemical storage: integrated wind hydrogen systems	p. 161
Wind energy strategy analysis	p. 165
Introduction	p. 165
Global wind energy uptake	p. 165
Why do some countries succeed and others fail in developing a wind energy industry?	p. 166
Conclusion and policy recommendations	p. 170
Policy instruments for fostering wind power technology localisation	p. 171
Institutional aspects of a Regional and Global Energy System
Institutional Aspects of a Regional Energy System	p. 177
Introduction	p. 177
Why renewable energy?	p. 177
Why renewable energy in the Middle East?	p. 179
Middle East renewable energy resources	p. 179
Solar energy	p. 179
Wind energy	p. 181
Bio-energy	p. 182
Hydropower resources	p. 182
Current regional cooperation projects	p. 183
The Red-Dead canal	p. 183
The Al-Wihdah dam	p. 184
Regional energy networking	p. 185
Egypt-Jordan-Syria electrical interconnection	p. 185
The Arab Gas Pipeline project	p. 185
Institutional aspects of regional renewable energy systems	p. 187
American University of Beirut (AUB) regional workshops	p. 187
Conclusions	p. 193
Energy and Water: Interdependent Production and Use, the Remediation of Local Scarcity and the Mutuality of the Impacts of Mismanagement	p. 197
Introduction	p. 198
The energy and water sectors: asymmetries, many differences and some synergies	p. 198
Dynamic narratives-using and trading water and energy	p. 203
Some synergies in the use of hydrocarbons and water resources	p. 209
Three weddings	p. 211
Avoiding two funerals	p. 214
Concluding comments	p. 216
Conclusion: Towards a Renewable Energy Transition in the Middle East and North Africa?	p. 219
A renewable energy transition for the Middle East and North Africa	p. 219
The DESERTEC energy community	p. 221
Regional cooperation capacity for renewable energy	p. 225
Regional investment in clean energy	p. 229
Conclusion	p. 232
Index	p. 237
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