Power and water are inextricably linked in the rapidly growing Middle East. An exhibit hopes to green up both
Desalination and water treatment have seen massive growth in the MENA region, which has now emerged as the largest market in the world. The region will have to build approximately three million cubic meters per day of desalination capacity every year to meet the mounting water demand, according to a report from Ventures Middle East.
Needed investment in desalination and water treatment will total a staggering $20 billion over the next four years. Massive amounts of energy are needed to power desalination, and water can potentially host massive renewable energy plants too. The two could be synergistic and could release the potential for a cleaner future.
So how much of this new water infrastructure could be run on clean renewable energy? Mark your calendars: October 16th to 18th, to attend the Power + Water Middle East exhibition to find out.
“The renewable energy sector in particular is seen as an area of immense growth in the region” says the report from Ventures Middle East, “particularly as global warming and spiraling oil prices have forced world leaders to plan ahead for more sustainable forms of energy production that includes nuclear, solar, wind and biomass.”
To bring together these two groups with intersecting interests, next month the Power + Water Middle East exhibition will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
Ventures Middle East released the latest figures ahead of the second annual Power + Water Leaders’ Forum, which will run at the same time as the exhibit. The simultaneous growth in water and energy use is skyrocketing in the region.
Their report notes that in the GCC, as economies diversify and population grows at a steady pace, energy consumption has increased by 91 per cent, from 160.4 billion kilowatts per hour in 2000 to 306.5 billion in 2011. To supply this burgeoning growth, electricity production across the six States has increased by 90 per cent in the last ten years, from 176.1 billion kilowatts per hour in 2000 to 335.3 billion in 2011.
And, increasingly, renewable energy is being considered to replace the finite fossil fuels that served to grow the region in the first place. MENA developing countries are overtaking the developed ones for the first time, with 104 per cent growth in projects driven by new renewable energy mandates like clean energy regulations, government subsidies and economic stimulus.
::Power + Water Middle East
::Ventures Middle East
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