Green energy in Arab countries

Abstract

The MENA Region and the GCC specifically own most of the world’s oil and gas proven resources. Their economies are based on oil and gas, which also makes them oil and gas dependent. Some forecasts say that oil and gas are expected to deplete over time. There is therefore nowadays an apparent need for GCC countries to shift to other sources of energy, like solar energy in particular, as it is their most abundant renewable resource. Global investments in renewably energy technologies are increasing and expected to increase even more. Why are the GCC countries still late in developing solar energy? The reasons are made evident throughout the study. The subject of this thesis will be introduced by an overview of historical and current practices in the power sector in most of the Arab Countries, and studies further their economic and environmental implications. We will then move on to discuss theoretically the effects of a green sector on the economy and its economic and environmental implications on the economy. These effects introduced and developed in Chapter III. Chapter IV proposes a cost benefit analysis to assess the implications of the implementation of solar power generation plants in GCC countries. Chapter V offers the conclusions drawn from the study and the policy implications suggested.