12 L.-C. SIM AND R. MILLS
but the investment climate is mostly unfriendly, and all the North African
countries have been prioritizing meeting their own demand. Europe
would also, for reasons of local employment and security of supply, not
wish to depend too heavily on its Mediterranean neighbors.
Low carbon energy projects have also broadened MENA’s outreach
beyond the region through interactions with new, non-oil, foreign
stakeholders. Power developers and financiers from Asia (for example,
Marubeni from Japan, KEPCO from South Korea, Jinko Solar and Silk
Road Fund from China) and Europe (EDF from France, Abengoa from
Spain, Rosatom from Russia, the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development) jostle with those from the region (the jointly-owned
APICORP, Acwa Power from Saudi Arabia, Masdar from Abu Dhabi,
Gulf Investment Corporation from Kuwait, and local banks). The Middle
East therefore continues to be a ‘penetrated system’ subject to exceptional external influence, although the degree of local agency has grown
significantly from when the observation was made in the 1980s. 27
Low Carbon Energy
and State-Society Relations in MENA
The dominance of the state in MENA is ubiquitous, be it in the
hydrocarbon sector, the ‘private’ sector, domestic consumption, banking,
media, or politics. The region’s electricity market is no different.
Historically, a designated state-owned or controlled monopoly generated, purchased, and transmitted electricity. For instance, in Kuwait
the monopoly is the Ministry of Electricity and Water, in Iran it is
Tavanir, a holding company. Since the early 2000s, independent power
producers have been introduced in most regional countries, breaking
the model of the vertically integrated, state-owned monopoly utility.
However, privatization of distribution has remained very limited and
true electricity markets do not exist; the ‘single buyer’ model persists
and a state monopoly remains in charge of transmission. In a possible
case of path dependency, MENA countries have preferred to introduce
large-scale, centralized renewable power projects in contrast to the decentralized and distributed model pioneered in Europe. These have typically
been awarded by tender by the state-owned utility, ministry, or energy
regulator, with a decades-long offtake guarantee. Nuclear power projects
replicate this centralized model.
but the investment climate is mostly unfriendly, and all the North African
countries have been prioritizing meeting their own demand. Europe
would also, for reasons of local employment and security of supply, not
wish to depend too heavily on its Mediterranean neighbors.
Low carbon energy projects have also broadened MENA’s outreach
beyond the region through interactions with new, non-oil, foreign
stakeholders. Power developers and financiers from Asia (for example,
Marubeni from Japan, KEPCO from South Korea, Jinko Solar and Silk
Road Fund from China) and Europe (EDF from France, Abengoa from
Spain, Rosatom from Russia, the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development) jostle with those from the region (the jointly-owned
APICORP, Acwa Power from Saudi Arabia, Masdar from Abu Dhabi,
Gulf Investment Corporation from Kuwait, and local banks). The Middle
East therefore continues to be a ‘penetrated system’ subject to exceptional external influence, although the degree of local agency has grown
significantly from when the observation was made in the 1980s. 27
Low Carbon Energy
and State-Society Relations in MENA
The dominance of the state in MENA is ubiquitous, be it in the
hydrocarbon sector, the ‘private’ sector, domestic consumption, banking,
media, or politics. The region’s electricity market is no different.
Historically, a designated state-owned or controlled monopoly generated, purchased, and transmitted electricity. For instance, in Kuwait
the monopoly is the Ministry of Electricity and Water, in Iran it is
Tavanir, a holding company. Since the early 2000s, independent power
producers have been introduced in most regional countries, breaking
the model of the vertically integrated, state-owned monopoly utility.
However, privatization of distribution has remained very limited and
true electricity markets do not exist; the ‘single buyer’ model persists
and a state monopoly remains in charge of transmission. In a possible
case of path dependency, MENA countries have preferred to introduce
large-scale, centralized renewable power projects in contrast to the decentralized and distributed model pioneered in Europe. These have typically
been awarded by tender by the state-owned utility, ministry, or energy
regulator, with a decades-long offtake guarantee. Nuclear power projects
replicate this centralized model.