Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.5 Prospects in the United Arab Emirates for BIPV
Member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) includes, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE); they are rich in oil - depending on this resource for domestic use, and export. Consequently, it is reported that all GCC countries are listed among the top 25 nations, globally, with the
highest per capita carbon dioxide emissions (Reiche, 2010). Contributing factors to the UAE‘s high energy consumption include, low energy prices, rapid economic growth, extreme climatic conditions, improved standard of living, and heavy air conditioner usage due to the hot desert climate (Harder & Gibson, 2011; Krarti & Dubey, 2018). The UAE has almost 10% and 14% of the global oil and natural gas reserves respectively (Cordesman, 1999; Butt, 2001); these vast natural resources have created a positive evolution from a country of nomads into an industrialized nation in the last four decades (Harder & Gibson, 2011).
The UAE consists of the seven emirates or states; Abu Dhabi is the largest, controlling 90% of all oil and gas reserves. Each emirate is led by its own ruler, and economic diversification between the Emirates is accepted by the Federal Government.
Thus, each Emirate owns its own oil and gas reserves; also, both electricity and water services are individually controlled by each Emirate (Bachellerie, 2012; Jamil et al., 2016). Beyond its vast fossil fuel resources, the UAE has, however, shifted its attention to sustainability and energy accountability towards a safe environment (Butt, 2001), reducing dependency on non-renewable sources and increasing its economic diversity in the process. As a classic example of this, oil rents in 1979 contributed 60% of the UAE‘s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and fell to only 18% in 2010 (World Bank, 2011).
2.5.1 The shift towards renewables
The retelling of the comparative electricity cost in the UAE presents a consideration to orient the current discussion. Compared to the electricity rates in the USA at 13.30 cents/kWh (EIA, 2020), and 14 pence/kwh (17 cents/kwh) in the UK (UKPower, 2020), the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Company (ADWEC) charges
6.7 fils/kWh (0.018 cents/kWh) for UAE citizens, and 26.8 fils/kWh (0.073 cents/kWh) for expatriates (ADDC, 2018). The variation in electricity rates for citizens and expatriates presents a different set of challenges to the energy discourse in the UAE which is explained later in this dissertation. However, as previously reported, UAE buildings consume about 68–76% of electricity, compared to the global average of 40%, with almost half of this energy used for air conditioning (Mokri et al., 2013). It has been suggested that modernization in the UAE built environment has taken a heightened toll on energy consumption. One source reports that traditional buildings in the UAE comparatively consume 6 times less energy than those of a more contemporary style (Gharzeldeen & Beheiry, 2015).
The UAE is geographically positioned in the ‗solar belt‘, between latitudes 40°
North and 40° South and has an abundance of solar energy (Bachellerie, 2012).
According to an investigation to evaluate the practicability of PV technology under the UAE climate by the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, the Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) values computed, promote the feasibility of the technology. According to the study, monthly GHI values found ranged from 657 W/m2 (January) to 929 W/m2 (June), with the greatest values across the summer months -May, June and July, and lowest in the colder months of November, December and January. Also reported were slight drops in July, August and September due to high temperature and humidity. In general, the region was reported to have above 82% of clear days with a GHI of 500 W/m2 (Bachellerie, 2012; El Chaar & Lamont, 2010).
In light of this concern, it has been suggested that the UAE‘s shift towards more sustainable architecture provides both an economic and ecological advantage (Govindan
et al., 2016). This opinion is defined by the promotion of passive architecture, sustainability in construction, building energy efficiency, and the integration of renewable energy into the construction industry. It was also reported, from a study of 25 multi-national UAE companies, that among various dimensions of sustainability, environmental values have a very high consideration (Govindan et al., 2016).
The general argument that the cost of solar generation is high at present time was rebuffed by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA, 2015), stating the potential loss in environmental and health advantages due to inaction. In the UAE, although the cost of solar power generation is measured to be double the electricity from the grid, strategies such as a feed-in-tariff or other cost-reducing financial incentives could help lower the cost (Mokri et al., 2013). Other debated measures are, waiting for a drop in the cost of solar, and an increase in the price of conventional electricity. Specific applications of BIPV were also reviewed, highlighting its advantages over utility-scale PV due to the added option of improving building thermal performance, and lower cooling load (Mokri et al., 2013).
2.5.2 Solar related investments and initiatives
Within the last decade interest in solar technology has risen in the UAE.
Figure 2.3 shows the rise in solar capacity of the UAE from 2013 to 2018, indicating a 360% increase in solar as the adopted trend.
Figure 2.3: Rise in solar capacity in the UAE from 2013 – 2018 (Statistica, 2020) Over the last decade, UAE has set up several initiatives to promote technologies which focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy, to enhance its economic diversity and reduce carbon-based energy resource dependency (Krarti &
Dubey, 2018; Jamil et al., 2016). The use of alternative energy as a mitigation strategy.
and renewables specifically, has become the new national focus in keeping with the global energy transition to renewables.
In 2008, Abu Dhabi invested $15 billion to build a novel ultramodern zero- waste, carbon neutral urban development called Masdar City 11miles outside the city for 50,000 people (Craft, 2008; Walsh, 2009) The city was set as an initiative for specialized focus on renewable and alternative energy technologies, to attract innovative industries, and to showcase environmentally accountability (Craft, 2008). In 2009, preparatory to the project, a 10 MW PV power plant was built outside the city of Abu Dhabi, to provide power for the construction of the city (Walsh, 2009). Other renewable energy-based projects in the UAE include:
130 134 135 142
355
594
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Combined capacity in megawatts
1,013 MW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park, which is the largest solar park in the world
1,177 MW Sweihan solar power plant
100 MW Abu Dhabi‘s Shams 1
Over 145 MW Rooftop Projects across the country (MESIA, 2018)
2 GW Al-Dhafra Solar PV IPP project
In a review of the impact of renewable energy systems (RES) in the UAE, Akella et al.
(2009) assert that the following benefits are potentially significant while invariably providing a unique opportunity for development. These include;
i. New industries and reduction of dependence on revenue from fossil fuel ii. Establishing a long-term or sustainable role in the global energy market.
iii. Realization of ―green growth‖ within the country iv. A systematic decarbonization of the power sector
v. Collaboration and engagement with leading international institutions vi. Support for renewable energy
Jamil et al. (2016) suggest that the concept of sustainability in the UAE has grown across the country, and is recognized by the academia, research and political sectors. They also assert that the current target is to bridge the gap between policy formulation, and policy implementation.
2.5.3 The role of Estidama: the local sustainability framework
Estidama which means ―sustainability‖ in Arabic, was set up in 2010 as an initiative developed and promoted by Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC). It
aims for building, sustainability and related, system regulations which can, among other criteria, impact the consumption of energy and water with a 30% reduction (Al Naqbi et al., 2019), though its green building rating system; the Pearl Building Rating System (PBRS). It was developed using elements from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and the British Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) rating systems. This was done, however, by considering the unique local context, its environment, and related concerns (Elgendy, 2010).
The confirmation of a correlation between the country‘s solar interests and the success of energy initiatives such as Estidama has been investigated in literature. It has already been established that the Estidama pearl rating system allocates 44 points (25%
of the 174 maximum points) towards ―resourceful energy‘. Of these 44 points, 9 points (20%) are specifically for renewable energy. This connects the potential of BIPV adoption to the Estidama pearl rating system and its importance in the UAE context; as this direct link with energy concerns has been reported in a number of contextual studies. An energy simulation study showed a potential of electricity reduction between 31% and 38% depending on building type and other parameters. The study also reports that a total monetary savings of 19 billion AED can be achieved cumulatively over a ten- year period (2011–2020) if Estidama rating system is applied. In addition, a reduction of 31.4 million tons of CO2eq cumulatively can be achieved (Assaf & Nour, 2015). In another example, the Estidama rating system was used to guide the design of a sustainable house and achieved considerable improvement over a typical Emirati house with a 59% reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions and utility bill (Al-Sallal et al., 2013). These studies suggest that BIPV adoption in the UAE – when powered by
initiatives such as Estidama - is supported and substantially relevant in financial and environmental terms.