Water produced as a byproduct of natural gas extraction is one of the oil and gas industry’s biggest waste streams, according to the Environment News Service (ENS), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers are collaborating with scientists from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals to do something about it. A process called Humidification […]
Built anywhere else, a 3.5 MW photovoltaic solar plant wouldn’t even elicit a whisper from mainstream news outlets. But one completed in Saudi Arabia has set the wires ablaze. We don’t mean to be cynical. It’s great that Saudi has turned to solar, regardless of its intentions. Some solar is better than no solar. To […]
Sometimes it takes a touch of star power to boost solar energy projects, which may be why comedian Sarah Silverman has publicly supported Arava Power and Energiya Global founder Yosef Abramowitz’s latest solar campaign in the Galapagos Islands. Known as “Captain Sunshine,” Silverman’s brother-in-law has pioneered a host of solar energy projects around the globe, […]
Abu Dhabi wants to ensure that by 2020, seven percent of the nation’s energy mix will be comprised of renewables, and Shams 1 – the world’s largest single unit concentrating solar power (CSP) plant – is about to put the emirate one step closer to this goal. A 100 MW CSP plant located 120 km southwest […]
On a VIP media tour of the zero-carbon city Masdar, Tafline unveils these new pics of the stunning green oasis in the desert A lot has happened at Masdar City since our first visit two years ago. Back then the “zero carbon, zero waste” development received a pile of bad press for falling short of […]
Amid some of the worst flooding seen in the Middle East in decades and increasingly dire reports about climate change, Masdar will host the sixth annual World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi next week. We’ll be joining 30,000 other delegates at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which includes the International Water Summit (IWS) from […]
Every year when farmers start harvesting their sugar cane, maize and other crops, Cairenes brace themselves for what is ominously known as “The Black Cloud.” Caused when seasonal meteorological conditions meet the smoke released by burning agricultural waste, the heavy black pollution settles over an already smoggy Cairo, and respiratory diseases flourish. Now a new […]
A group of Yemeni high school girls have created a suite of solar-powered gadgets to help illuminate their country’s post-revolution darkness. When the first revolutions began to sweep through the Arab world, we were all so hopeful about the changes to follow. So hopeful, we called this time the “Arab Spring.” But for people living […]
When 97 percent of a nation’s energy is imported, every renewable energy gift counts. Jordan received a $300 million grant from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which Minister of Energy and Transportation Alaa Batayneh says will be used to develop a host of solar and wind energy projects in southern Jordan, The Jordan Times reports.
A suite of mobile solar-powered lamps have completely changed the lives of hundreds of villagers in Mali. Approximately 90 per cent of the desert country’s residents lack access to an electrical grid, such that many children are unable to learn after dark and mothers stay up late using the light of paraffin lamps to complete […]
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its neighbor the United Arab Emirates have been included in the Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices, which evaluates the renewable energy markets of 40 countries across the globe. Two of the top oil producers on earth, the KSA and UAE each possess the requisite capital and […]
California-based GlassPoint Solar has installed an unconventional concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Oman. Comprised of rows of six meter tall steel mirrors encased in glass boxes that look and in some ways act like greenhouses, this 7MW pilot project uses clean technology to extract dirty fossil fuels. Commissioned by Petroleum Development Oman, GlassPoint has […]
Jordan is the first country in the Arab world to offer its residents an opportunity to earn money through feed-in-tariffs (FITs). The Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced last week that citizens of one of the world’s most fuel-deprived nations can sell energy generated with solar panels for 120 fils per kilowatt/hour (kw/h) and wind power […]
Like Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, Qatar uses up a lot of its own fossil fuels – either to power energy-intensive desalination plants or complicated subsidies. The emirate is the world’s largest per capita consumer of energy, a topic that has come up time and again at the ongoing COP18 climate talks in Doha, and […]
Lacking the necessary raw materials has been a major barrier to any kind of paper industry in Oman, but that could change if a young inventor commercializes his patented palm leaf waste to paper technology. A recent graduate of Sultan Qaboos University, Mustafa Salim Abdullah Barami first learned how to use the palm leaf waste […]
German project developer juwi has installed their first combined wind and solar plant in Egypt to be used for desalinating and pumping irrigation water for farms and it is monitored and controlled remotely from Germany. Located halfway between the bustling cities of Cairo and Alexandria in Wadi El-Natrun, the new plant is comprised of four 12 […]
Over the past week, there has been much fanfare and reporting on Spain’s surprising absence from the signing of the first Desertec project, leaving many to question if Spain was pulling out altogether from the project. Certainly, it was not the right move by Spain to simply not show up at the signing event, but […]
The opening of the Sahara Forest Project’s first pilot plant in Qatar is set to coincide with the United Nations Climate Conference (COP18) in Doha, Qatar, which kicks off on November 26, 2012, and operations are expected to be fully underway in December. By combining a seawater greenhouse with concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, SFP […]
Abu Dhabi is full of contradictions. Despite a devoted mix of forward-thinking, eco-savvy organizations, students and government officials that strive hard to bring the emirate in line with the realities of the 21st century, society overall maintains an unabashed commitment to the very good life. Of course, not all Emiratis are driving a white gold […]
Morocco’s ambitious Desertec solar energy project received a setback after Spain failed to show for the official signing of the agreement that aims to transform North Africa’s energy market. The first Desertec project between the EU and Morocco is now under threat as Spain had been an instrumental partner in the project. Officials from France, […]
If you’ve been to Dubai or neighboring emirate Abu Dhabi in the middle of summer, you’ve not only experienced a kind of heat that drains the life force from your pores, but you will also recall the bone-freezing experience of walking into any public building during these same months. Counteracting soaring outdoor temperatures with overactive […]
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI recently visited the site of Mohammed VI Green City, a future “eco” development being built just outside of Benguerir – one of the largest phosphate producing areas in the country. Located just 70 kilometers north of Marrakech, the new city will be constructed in tandem with the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, which […]
The Middle East is continuing to show itself capable of boosting alternative energy sources without facing political backlashes from opposing sides of the aisle. In Iraq, large multinational corporations are working with the country’s ministry of electricity to see clean and renewable resources become a reality in the post-war environment, where investment is expected to […]
As part of its plan to shake off its unprofitable solar shackles, including Israel’s Solel initiative, German giant Siemens has exited the ambitious Desertec project. But that doesn’t seem to have deterred the strength of the initiative, which is designed to enable Europe to import one fifth of its power by 2050 from renewable energy […]
Known as the ‘Queen of Mean’ because of her tyrannical behavior towards just about everyone who crossed her path, Leona M. Helmsley was also a convicted felon who set up a $12 million trust for her Maltese Trouble. That amount was reduced to a more reasonable $2 million to ensure lifelong care for the dog, […]