Gulf countries stand to save as much as $87bn from lower oil and natural gas consumption if they achieve goals for renewables use by 2030, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Meeting Gulf Cooperation Council targets for solar and other renewable energy could also create an average of 140,000 jobs a year, with 207,000 people employed in 2030, the Abu Dhabi-based Irena said in a 96-page report released yesterday. The goals may already be pushed back, with Saudi Arabia, the largest of the GCC’s six member countries, delaying its target completion date for renewables by eight years to 2040.
Oil prices dropped almost 70% the past three years, prompting some Gulf countries to plan spending cuts or eliminate fuel subsidies. Renewable energy is taking on focus in the Gulf region as some GCC states can’t meet their own needs from traditional fuels because of growing demand, with the UAE turning to natural-gas imports, according to the report.
The savings of $55bn to $87bn by 2030 is equal to 2.5bn barrels of oil equivalent, the Irena report showed. Carbon emissions could also be reduced by 1 gigatonne by 2030, resulting in an 8% cut in the region’s per capita carbon footprint, it said.
GCC countries, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, comprise the world’s largest hydrocarbon-producing region, with about 30% of its proven crude reserves and 22% of gas, according to the report. Solar would account for 85% of renewables jobs in 2030, with waste-to-energy at 14%, Irena said.
Saudi Arabia’s programme shows solar contributing 76% of its sustainable energy plans by 2040, with wind at 17%.
Water use could be cut by 16% in the power sector in the region, it said. In the UAE, fuel consumption in water and power industries could be cut 50% if targets are met, according to the report. Fuel use would drop 23% in Saudi Arabia and 21% in Kuwait, it said.
Sales of crude, petroleum products and natural gas generated almost 80% of total GCC government revenue in 2013, and regional energy consumption grew an average 5% a year since 2000, faster than India, China and Brazil, Irena said.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude exporter and Qatar the biggest shipper of liquefied natural gas.