98 F. AL-SULAYMAN
Project Development Office (REPDO), and the PIF would come to play
dominant roles in the renewable energy space. And in the nuclear energy
space, the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology would play
an increasingly important role. This phenomenon will be examined more
closely in section “A Closer Look at Saudi Arabia”.
It is noteworthy that Oman’s early experiences with renewables came
from a different set of institutions, as their oil and gas sector began
deploying solar thermal technology—on a substantially larger scale that
its neighbors—for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) as early as 2013. The
1021 MW Miraah project, developed by Petroleum Development Oman
(PDO) and Glasspoint Solar in 2017, represented a different kind of early
entry into the world of renewables, saving 5.6 trillion BTUs of natural gas
per year to be used elsewhere in the industrial and power sectors. 18
Unlike the other Gulf states, Oman took on some technology risk and
chose to enter the world of renewables through a focused high value
deployment, with a strong case for financial viability. Despite favorable
conditions for renewables deployment in Oman, however, the Miraah
project remained a rather unique case of early large-scale deployment,
likely driven by the internal corporate incentives of the PDO and not
broader political economy conditions in the country.
Nonetheless it would not be until the period of 2016–2019 before the
GCC states, led by the UAE, began the process of integrating renewables
goals into the highest level development strategies of the state, initiating
legislation and endowing institutions with enough clout to create reusable
platforms capable of facilitating large-scale renewables deployment.
What Is the Picture Like Today?
Painting a clear picture of the renewables landscape today is a key, if
obvious, part of answering the questions outlined in the introduction.
Table 4.1, using data compiled in a 2019 IRENA report on the region
and complemented using an updated IRENA data set in 2020, details
renewables deployment in the GCC states as of end 2019. 19 For consistency, these figures will be used throughout the chapter to give an
overview of scale and technology choices across the renewables landscape.
The period between 2014 and 2019, in which more than 75% of the
current renewables capacity has been developed, has shown that states
in the region have a strong technology preference for solar photovoltaic
(PV) deployment, and predominantly at utility-scale. Qatar is a notable
Project Development Office (REPDO), and the PIF would come to play
dominant roles in the renewable energy space. And in the nuclear energy
space, the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology would play
an increasingly important role. This phenomenon will be examined more
closely in section “A Closer Look at Saudi Arabia”.
It is noteworthy that Oman’s early experiences with renewables came
from a different set of institutions, as their oil and gas sector began
deploying solar thermal technology—on a substantially larger scale that
its neighbors—for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) as early as 2013. The
1021 MW Miraah project, developed by Petroleum Development Oman
(PDO) and Glasspoint Solar in 2017, represented a different kind of early
entry into the world of renewables, saving 5.6 trillion BTUs of natural gas
per year to be used elsewhere in the industrial and power sectors. 18
Unlike the other Gulf states, Oman took on some technology risk and
chose to enter the world of renewables through a focused high value
deployment, with a strong case for financial viability. Despite favorable
conditions for renewables deployment in Oman, however, the Miraah
project remained a rather unique case of early large-scale deployment,
likely driven by the internal corporate incentives of the PDO and not
broader political economy conditions in the country.
Nonetheless it would not be until the period of 2016–2019 before the
GCC states, led by the UAE, began the process of integrating renewables
goals into the highest level development strategies of the state, initiating
legislation and endowing institutions with enough clout to create reusable
platforms capable of facilitating large-scale renewables deployment.
What Is the Picture Like Today?
Painting a clear picture of the renewables landscape today is a key, if
obvious, part of answering the questions outlined in the introduction.
Table 4.1, using data compiled in a 2019 IRENA report on the region
and complemented using an updated IRENA data set in 2020, details
renewables deployment in the GCC states as of end 2019. 19 For consistency, these figures will be used throughout the chapter to give an
overview of scale and technology choices across the renewables landscape.
The period between 2014 and 2019, in which more than 75% of the
current renewables capacity has been developed, has shown that states
in the region have a strong technology preference for solar photovoltaic
(PV) deployment, and predominantly at utility-scale. Qatar is a notable