Why Middle Eastern Oil States Are the New Solar-Energy Hotspots
Kamran Jebreili/AP
The world’s largest solar thermal power plant just went online -- in Abu Dhabi.
The world’s largest solar thermal power plant went online yesterday—in Abu Dhabi.
The inauguration of the 100-megawatt Shams 1 power station by Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar underscores the emergence of Middle East petro-kingdoms as the new hot market for solar energy as European markets constrict and developers in the US face hurdles to building massive projects in fragile desert environments.
...
For OPEC states, renewable energy is a long-term strategy to preserve their most precious resource. The more solar electricity sun-soaked, oil-rich nations like the United Arab Emirates can produce to power their domestic economies, the more petroleum they conserve to export.