Water & Renewable Energy in the MENA Region
The MENA region has experienced significant increases in population. This has led to an increased demand on current water resources and a greater need to explore the availability of new resources. It is noted that the Middle East and North Africa region has the lowest level of annual renewable water resources per capita and one of the highest levels of degradation of water quality and quantity.
Additionally, the instability of the region combined with the fact that roughly 60% of the Middle East’s water flows across international borders encourage more careful security considerations as well as cross-border policy analysis. The issues of water scarcity, rapidly dwindling groundwater reserves, and the growing gap between water demand and water supply, should be treated by local governments and NGOs. Wastewater and water treatment, well drilling, and groundwater exploitation projects are alleviating these problems. In Saudi Arabia, 22 billion cubic meters of water are being exploited annually for domestic and irrigation needs. Libya, through the Great Man Made River project, is exploiting 5.5 million cubic meters a day, equivalent to 1.8 billion cubic meters a year. Wastewater treatment and reuse is being implemented on a wide scale in the G.C.C. region, it helps in preventing the pollution of groundwater aquifers and the environment.
In the desalination sector Saudi Arabia is leading the way as we see with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) projects that are either finished or underway. The actual amount of water exported from SWCC plants during 2007 was 1,066,825,977 cubic meters. Several SWCC desalination plants are under construction now such as the Al Wajh plant (9000 m3/day), the Rabigh plant (18,000 m3/day), the Laith plant (9000 m3/day), the Qunfudah plant (9000 m3/day), the Ummlujj plant (9000 m3/day), and the Farasan plant (9000 m3/day). Middle Eastern countries are expected to invest US$ 117 billion in the next ten years in the water sector. Saudi Arabia, which is one of the largest power and water markets in the world, will be investing more than US$ 200 billion over the next 20 years.
With oil prices soaring and a global focus on the need to reduce carbon emissions, governments in the region are exploring opportunities to develop renewable energy as an alternative to conventional sources. Middle East governments are pouring billions of dollars into research and development of wind, solar, nuclear, and hydrogen power. They are joined by the world’s leading oil companies, which are keen to show leadership on the issue and have also been investing heavily in renewable power schemes. Abu Dhabi’s Masdar hydrogen power initiative, for example, is based on a technology developed by BP. But the challenge remains alive in terms of generation capacity and cost. Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, the UAE, and Qatar are all planning to develop such schemes. In the case of North Africa, plans are in place to export power to Europe. Sustainable power generation means ensuring a positive legacy for future generations, and it is here where cost-benefit analysis becomes more difficult. Middle Eastern governments appear to have accepted that to ensure energy for years to come.
