scholarly journals The impact of the rise of using solar energy in GCC countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.W. Alnaser ◽  
W.E. Alnaser
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Energy Devices ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Solar Electricity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Major Reduction

The research and the prototype projects in the GCC countries were in place since 1970's which first was started in Kuwait, followed by Saudi Arabia in the 1980's, United Arab Emirates in the 1990's, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar in 21 centuries. Now all GCC countries had conducted, relatively, large project in solar and wind energy, especially Kuwait (currently about 70 MW among a plan of 2000 MW by 2030), UAE (currently about 300 MW among a plan of 2500 MW by 2030) and Saudi Arabia (with an ambitious renewable energy target of 3450 MW by 2020 with a further 6000 GW envisioned by 2023 and to 200 000 MW by 2030). Such an acceleration in the use of solar and wind energy would have an impact. Major impacts are: (1) Major reduction in the solar electricity prices in the region; (2) More investors in renewable energy business; (3) Rise of innovative design of houses to utilize its structure in installation and integration of renewable energy devices; (4) Rise of many service and maintenance of solar technology companies; (5) Establishment of new academic programs and courses in solar and other renewable energy technologies in the higher education institute and technical organizations; (6) More concern and studies on disturbances to the main grid due to solar connection; (7) Major reduction in carbon footprint per capita in GCC countries; (8) Use of more efficient and low consumption household and industrial devices; (9) Boost in battery industry for solar electricity storage.

scholarly journals The Impact of the 2020 Oil Production Fluctuations on Methane Emissions over the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries: A Satellite Approach

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Ashraf Farahat
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Oil Refineries ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 outbreak has significantly affected global industrial and transportation markets. Airlines, rails, and cars’ industries and their supporting energy sectors have been substantially disrupted by the pandemic. This has resulted in undermined energy demand around the world during 2019 and 2020. The organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia failed to persuade Russia to cutback oil supplies to deal with the loss of demand from the COVID-19 pandemic. On 8 March 2020, Saudi Arabia announced a raise in its oil production and offered a large discount on its crude oil sales. By April 2020, Saudi Arabia increased its oil production to about 12 million-oil barrels/day. This rise in oil production has not only resulted in the biggest fall in oil prices since the 1991 Gulf War but also increased methane emissions over the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regions. Here, we report 2019 and 2020 data set of average seasonal methane-mixing ratio retrieved from TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board of S5P spacecraft over 19 refineries and oil fields in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain. Low methane emissions were recorded over western and central Saudi Arabia compared to the eastern side of the country. In general, high methane emissions were observed in 2020 compared to 2019 around oil refineries and fields in western, central, and eastern regions of Saudi Arabia as well as over other GCC countries. This could be attributed to the oil high production associated with the oil prices fluctuation during 2020.

scholarly journals Impact evaluation of soft drink taxes as part of nutrition policies in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1287
Author(s):  
Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh ◽  
Rania Megally
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Soft Drink ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
The Impact

Background: Prevalence of overweight and obesity is high in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and there are higher rates in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This had led GCC countries to impose policies that aim to decrease obesity, overweight, and diabetes rates. The objective of this research is to measure the impact of such implemented policy to reduce obesity, namely taxes applied to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in GCC. Methods: The impact of SSB taxes has been measured using a panel data set that covers sales volumes of soft drinks in GCC countries from 2010 to 2020. Results: annual growth in soft drink sales volumes decreased; from 5.44% to 1.33% in Saudi Arabia, 7.37% to 5.93% in United Arab Emirates, and 5.25% to 5.09% in Bahrain from 2016 to 2017. In Qatar, a tax was implemented in 2019, and a reduction in sales volume growth was observed between 2019 and 2020 (3.78% to 2.45%), and in Oman a reduction was observed between 2018 and 2019 (3.60% to 2.99%). Kuwait was the last GCC country to implement taxes in 2020, and the growth in sales volumes decreased from 6.31% to 5.47% from 2019 to 2020. Conclusions: The introduction of health-related taxes on soft drinks has been followed by a drop in the growth rates of sales in GCC countries. This, in turn, can be expected to contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of overweight and obesity, especially when combined with complementary public health policies and interventions. Hence, awareness campaigns should promote the reduction of the consumption sales of SSB and substitute with more consumption of fresh juices. These recommendations align with the recommended priority actions by the World Health Organization Strategy on nutrition for the Eastern Mediterranean Region 2020-2030 adopted by the countries of the Region in October 2019.

scholarly journals Impact evaluation of national nutrition policies to address obesity through implementation of sin taxes in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1287
Author(s):  
Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh ◽  
Rania Megally
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Gulf Cooperation Council ◽  
World Health ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Sin Taxes ◽  
The Impact

Background: Around 7% of under-five aged children in the Eastern Mediterranean are overweight, and there are higher rates in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This had led the GCC to impose policies that aim to decrease obesity, overweight, and diabetes rates. The objective of this research is to measure the impact of one such implemented policy to reduce obesity, i.e. sin taxes applied to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in GCC. Methods: The impact of sin taxes on SSB has been measured using a panel data set that covers sales volumes of soft drinks in GCC countries from 2010 to 2020. Results: Growth rate of sales volumes decreased from 5.44% to 1.33% in Saudi Arabia, 7.37% to 5.93% in United Arab Emirates, and 5.25% to 5.09% in Bahrain from 2016 to 2017; sin taxes were implemented in these countries in 2017. In Qatar and Oman, sin taxes were implemented in 2019, and a reduction in sales volumes was observed from 2018 to 2019 (Qatar: 2.30% to 3.78%; Oman: 3.60% to 2.99%). Kuwait was the last GCC country to implement sin taxes in 2020. Growth rate of sales volumes decreased from 6.31% to 5.47% from 2019 to 2020. Conclusions: Awareness campaigns should promote the reduction of the consumption of SSB and substitute with more consumption of water, unsweetened milk for children, fresh fruits and vegetables. These recommendations align with the recommended priority actions by the World Health Organization for the strategy on nutrition for the Eastern Mediterranean Region 2020-2030.

scholarly journals Wind Data Analysis and Wind Flow Simulation Over Large Areas

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45
Author(s):  
Angel Terziev ◽  
Ivan Antonov ◽  
Rositsa Velichkova
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Wind Flow ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Wind Potential ◽  
Wind Energy Potential ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Increasing the share of renewable energy sources is one of the core policies of the European Union. This is because of the fact that this energy is essential in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and securing energy supplies. Currently, the share of wind energy from all renewable energy sources is relatively low. The choice of location for a certain wind farm installation strongly depends on the wind potential. Therefore the accurate assessment of wind potential is extremely important. In the present paper an analysis is made on the impact of significant possible parameters on the determination of wind energy potential for relatively large areas. In the analysis the type of measurements (short- and long-term on-site measurements), the type of instrumentation and the terrain roughness factor are considered. The study on the impact of turbulence on the wind flow distribution over complex terrain is presented, and it is based on the real on-site data collected by the meteorological tall towers installed in the northern part of Bulgaria. By means of CFD based software a wind map is developed for relatively large areas. Different turbulent models in numerical calculations were tested and recommendations for the usage of the specific models in flows modeling over complex terrains are presented. The role of each parameter in wind map development is made. Different approaches for determination of wind energy potential based on the preliminary developed wind map are presented.

scholarly journals Numerical and experimental investigations of the impacts of the integration of wind energy into distribution network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ramesh Kumar Behara
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Distribution Network ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Doubly Fed ◽  
The Impact

The growing needs for electric power around the world has resulted in fossil fuel reserves to be consumed at a much faster rate. The use of these fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas have led to huge consequences on the environment, prompting the need for sustainable energy that meets the ever increasing demands for electrical power. To achieve this, there has been a huge attempt into the utilisation of renewable energy sources for power generation. In this context, wind energy has been identified as a promising, and environmentally friendly renewable energy option. Wind turbine technologies have undergone tremendous improvements in recent years for the generation of electrical power. Wind turbines based on doubly fed induction generators have attracted particular attention because of their advantages such as variable speed, constant frequency operation, reduced flicker, and independent control capabilities for maximum power point tracking, active and reactive powers. For modern power systems, wind farms are now preferably connected directly to the distribution systems because of cost benefits associated with installing wind power in the lower voltage networks. The integration of wind power into the distribution network creates potential technical challenges that need to be investigated and have mitigation measures outlined. Detailed in this study are both numerical and experimental models to investigate these potential challenges. The focus of this research is the analytical and experimental investigations in the integration of electrical power from wind energy into the distribution grid. Firstly, the study undertaken in this project was to carry out an analytical investigation into the integration of wind energy in the distribution network. Firstly, the numerical simulation was implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink software. Secondly, the experimental work, was conducted at the High Voltage Direct Centre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The goal of this project was to simulate and conduct experiments to evaluate the level of penetration of wind energy, predict the impact on the network, and propose how these impacts can be mitigated. From the models analysis, the effects of these challenges intensify with the increased integration of wind energy into the distribution network. The control strategies concept of the doubly fed induction generator connected wind turbine was addressed to ascertain the required control over the level of wind power penetration in the distribution network. Based on the investigation outcomes we establish that the impact on the voltage and power from the wind power integration in the power distribution system has a goal to maintain quality and balance between supply and demand.

scholarly journals The Impact of Temporal Complexity Reduction on a 100% Renewable European Energy System with Hydrogen Infrastructure

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilara Gulcin Caglayan ◽  
Heidi Ursula Heinrichs ◽  
Detlef Stolten ◽  
Martin Robinius
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Renewable Energy System ◽  
Hydrogen Infrastructure ◽  
Storage Technologies ◽  
The Impact

The transition towards a renewable energy system is essential in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The increase in the share of variable renewable energy sources (VRES), which mainly comprise wind and solar energy, necessitates storage technologies by which the intermittency of VRES can be compensated for. Although hydrogen has been envisioned to play a significant role as a promising alternative energy carrier in a future European VRES-based energy concept, the optimal design of this system remains uncertain. In this analysis, a hydrogen infrastructure is posited that would meet the electricity and hydrogen demand for a 100% renewable energy-based European energy system in the context of 2050. The overall system design is optimized by minimizing the total annual cost. Onshore and offshore wind energy, open-field photovoltaics (PV), rooftop PV and hydro energy, as well as biomass, are the technologies employed for electricity generation. The electricity generated is then either transmitted through the electrical grid or converted into hydrogen by means of electrolyzers and then distributed through hydrogen pipelines. Battery, hydrogen vessels and salt caverns are considered as potential storage technologies. In the case of a lull, stored hydrogen can be re-electrified to generate electricity to meet demand during that time period. For each location, eligible technologies are introduced, as well as their maximum capacity and hourly demand profiles, in order to build the optimization model. In addition, a generation time series for VRES has been exogenously derived for the model. The generation profiles of wind energy have been investigated in detail by considering future turbine designs with high spatial resolution. In terms of salt cavern storage, the technical potential for hydrogen storage is defined in the system as the maximum allowable capacity per region. Whether or not a technology is installed in a region, the hourly operation of these technologies, as well as the cost of each technology, are obtained within the optimization results. It is revealed that a 100 percent renewable energy system is feasible and would meet both electricity demand and hydrogen demand in Europe.

Are Islamic financial institutions more resilient against the COVID-19 pandemic in the GCC countries?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erhan Akkas ◽  
Hazem Al Samman
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Phase Analysis ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Random Effect Model ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gcc Countries ◽  
Effect Model ◽  
Islamic Financial Institutions ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to investigate and provide an objective appraisal of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Islamic and conventional financial institutions and Islamic windows in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Design/methodology/approach The panel data techniques are conducted country-wise in each financial institution type: random-effect model, fixed-effect model and Hausman test. Findings The results of the first phase analysis that extends from 1 January 2020 to 30 October 2020 show that Islamic financial institutions are less exposed to the repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak than the conventional and Islamic window financial institutions in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Moreover, the Islamic financial institutions in Saudi Arabia and Oman have not been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The second phase analysis for the COVID-19 outbreak that extends from 1 November 2020 to 17 March 2021 confirms the disappearance of the negative impact of COVID-19 on Islamic financial institutions in Bahrain and Oman. Practical implications The findings present that Islamic banks are not as resilient in the COVID-19 pandemic as in the 2008 financial crisis. It can be suggested that regulatory authorities, financial institutions and other key policymakers in the GCC countries should focus on implementing regulatory reforms related to human capital, innovative products, research and development to further develop individuals, societies and institutions within the framework of Islamic ontology to be more resilient in such crises. Originality/value This paper provides a different perspective from existing literature on the pandemics and financial institutions by comparing the stock prices in Islamic and conventional financial institutions and Islamic windows in GCC countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this paper should be considered as a contribution to filling a gap in the literature.

Analysis of Avoided Carbon-Dioxide Due to Photovoltaic and Wind Turbine Technologies Displacing Electrical Peaking Facilities

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarod C. Kelly ◽  
Deepak Sivaraman ◽  
Gregory A. Keoleian
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
San Antonio ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emission ◽  
Renewable Energy Technologies ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Renewable Technology

Many studies that examine the impact of renewable energy installations on avoided carbon-dioxide utilize national, regional or state averages to determine the predicted carbon-dioxide offset. The approach of this computational study was to implement a dispatching strategy in order to determine precisely which electrical facilities would be avoided due to the installation of renewable energy technologies. This study focused on a single geographic location for renewable technology installation, San Antonio, Texas. The results indicate an important difference between calculating avoided carbon-dioxide when using simple average rates of carbon-dioxide emissions and a dispatching strategy that accounts for the specific electrical plants used to meet electrical demands. The avoided carbon-dioxide due to renewable energy technologies is overestimated when using national, regional and state averages. This occurs because these averages include the carbon-dioxide emission factors of electrical generating assets that are not likely to be displaced by the renewable technology installation. The study also provides a comparison of two specific renewable energy technologies: photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines. The results suggest that investment in PV is more cost effective for the San Antonio location. While the results are only applicable to this location, the methodology is useful for evaluating renewable technologies at any location.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Public Willingness to Adopt Renewable Energy Technologies: An Exploratory Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anas A. Makki ◽  
Ibrahim Mosly
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Renewable Energy Technologies ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Willingness To Adopt

Renewable energy has become an important element of today’s modern technology targeting high-efficiency energy production. As part of its 2030 Vision, Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase its energy production through renewable sources. The purpose of this research study is to explore the factors affecting public willingness to adopt renewable energy technologies in the western region of Saudi Arabia. This was achieved through an extensive literature review of previous studies conducted worldwide and resulted in the extraction of 19 factors that affect public willingness to adopt renewable energy technologies. Following a quantitative research design, random cross-sectional data of 416 participants using the extracted factors were collected via an online questionnaire survey. Following a dimension reduction statistical approach, key components were extracted with exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis. Five main components clustering the 19 extracted factors were revealed: cost and government regulations and policies, public awareness and local market, environment and public infrastructure, residential building, and renewable energy technology systems. The implications of this research study assist in guiding governments, regulations and policy makers, marketing agencies, and investors to better understand the concerns and enablers of renewable energy technologies adoption from the public perspective.

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