Calls to use alternative energy resources have recently increased in different parts of the world, taking priority over the agendas of research centers, energy industry conventions and even parliamentary sessions, as a result of the skyrocketing prices of energy. GCC countries are seeking to keep pace with the global trend of using alternative energy, in a bid to offset the increasing pressures resulting from high fuel costs and dependence on a single energy source. Gas turbine technology is the most appropriate fossil-fuel-based technology available for power generation in the GCC countries, and serious steps have been taken to adopt this efficient method. Commenting on this trend, Dr. Abdullah Al-Amiri, chairman of the Emirates Energy Award, an initiative by Dubai Quality Group, said: “Gas turbine technologies are the cleanest techniques within systems that use fossil fuels and are favored in GCC countries due to the low cost of available natural gas. Actually, it is expensive at $10-12 per million Btu but users do not rely on this number since the price is heavily subsidized by the local government to less than $2 per million Btu. Gas turbine techniques can also be used in a combined cycle with a steam generator which uses the waste emitted heat from the GT units. This increases the plant efficiency from 28 percent to about 50 percent . It is also considered the cleanest technique within systems that use fossil fuels.” Speaking on the other alternative energy sources, Al-Amiri said: “There is coal-fired power plant, which is burned by coal gasification, a very efficient method for extracting energy from coal, and the best solution to help reduce emission and pollution. The GCC countries are continuously confronted with the issue of depletion of natural gas resources in region.” Exploitation of wind as an energy source to meet the increasing electricity demand is still controversial, as the adequate wind speed, which is critical to the success of this method, is not available in the UAE. According to a study conducted in Fujairah a few years ago, the available wind speed level is only 25 percent of the required speed to enable the windmill to start generating electricity. Solar techniques are still relatively more expensive. The cost for a typical Parabolic Trough Solar Power plant is estimated to be between AED11000 to AED13000, and the cost per KWh is almost 55-74 fils, a relatively high cost compared to other fossil fuel power plants. Yet it is still recommended in GCC countries to reduce the peak load during the summer. The possibility of using nuclear technology to generate power remains a hot topic of conversation due to the low cost of energy generation, estimated at 0.08 to 12 fils per KWh, against 14-22 fils per KWh for gas turbine technologies and 9-18 fils per KWh for coal fired technologies, and the high initial investment required, estimated at AED4000 to AED7000 per KWh, compared to AED1500-2000 per KWh and AED3500-5000 per KWh for gas turbine and coal fired technologies respectively. However, the decision to go with it is both a political and a social one, as it has a strategic dimension in the future which countries will need quite some time to accept. __
