From Economic to Extrinsic Values of Sustainable Energy: Prestige, Neo-Rentierism, and Geopolitics of the Energy Transition in the Arabian Peninsula
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Research Outline and Case Study
2.1. Overview of Terms and Research Approach
2.2. Sustainable Energy in the Gulf: A Review of Political Economy, Trends, and Common Justifications
Indicator (Year)/Country | Renewables Targets i | Energy Efficiency Targets i | Total Renewable Energy Capacity in MW (2019) ii | Electricity Production from Renewables (% of Total Production in 2018) iii | Energy Intensity Level of Primary Energy (MJ/$2011 PPP GDP) (2015) iv | Total Fossil Fuel Subsidies as Share of GDP (%) (2019) v | Average Subsidization Rate (2019) iv |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bahrain | 2035: 10% of elec. generation | 2025: 6% less elec. consumption | 7 | 0% | 9.78 | 2.0% | 25% |
Kuwait | 2030: 15% of elec. generation | 2030: 30% less energy consumption | 106 | 0.12% | 5.31 | 4.0% | 59% |
Oman | 2025: 10% of elec. generation | 2030: 2% less emissions | 8 | 0.01% | 6.30 | - | - |
Qatar | 2020: 200–500 MW of solar | 2022: 15% less per-capita water consumption and 8% less per-capita elec. consumption | 43 | 0% | 6.40 | 0.3% | 12% |
Saudi Arabia | 2030: 30% of generation from renewables and others (nuclear) | 2021: 8% less elec. Consumption and 14% less in peak demand | 397 | 0.04% | 5.79 | 3.7% | 47% |
United Arab Emirates | 2050: 44% of capacity | 2050: 40% less elec. consumption | 1885 | 0.96% | 5.08 | 1.4% | 23% |
3. A Critical Perspective: Extrinsic Values of the Energy Transition
3.1. Modernity Display and (Regional) Environmental Competition: Renewables via Megaprojects
3.2. Reorganization and Reforms toward Neo-Rentierism: A New Energy Supply Sector
3.3. Reality and Choices of (Regional) Geopolitics: The Nuclear Energy Prestige
4. Discussion: Nuances and Implications of the Gulf the Energy Transition
5. Conclusions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Key Properties of the Value Category | Intrinsic Values | Extrinsic Values |
---|---|---|
Term description | Essential benefits commonly sought and required by states. | Non-essential or add-on conveniences desired and expected by states. |
Common characteristics | Related to the nature of different energy types, e.g., being renewables, safe or clean; often considered as prerequisites for implementation (need to be there); mostly technical and economic factors, e.g., cost-advantages, technical feasibility or resource availability/potentials. | Secondary or inferior advantages (they don’t stand alone); mostly related to the implementation or the promotion policies of a certain energy type; highly context- and case-specific; often not purely economic or technical, but rather involve socio-political or cultural elements. |
Examples of category of factors in the Gulf region | Cost competitiveness and high potential of renewables; contribution to economic diversification and meeting rising energy demands; fulfillment of sustainability requirements. | Display of modernity and affluence; signaling primacy in a global city competition; power instruments in state-based rivalry; provision of new means for distribution of state-provided rents/benefits. |
Supporting bodies of literature | Energy economics and energy-growth; energy infrastructure; energy infrastructure and feasibility studies. | Urban development; energy geopolitics; political economy of energy transitions; energy security studies. |
Largest Renewables Plants: Capacity in Megawatt | Plant Status (End of 2020) | Largest Planned City with Sustainability Features (Cost in USD Billions) | City Energy Profile | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bahrain | Solar PV Plant: 100 MW | Contracts awarded | - | - |
Kuwait | Al Dibdibah/Shagaya Phase II: 1200 MW | Project suspended after COVID-19 | - | - |
Oman | Miraah Solar for enhanced oil recovery (EOR): 1000 MW-th | Under construction | Madinat Al Irfan ($13) | Energy certifications of buildings, solar energy use. |
Ibri PV Plant: 500 MW | Bids received | |||
Qatar | Al-Kharsaah Solar PV: 700 MW | Financing closed | Lusail city ($45), Musheireb City ($5.5), Education City ($15) | Energy certifications of buildings; solar energy. |
Saudi Arabia | Sakaka Solar PV: 300 MW | Under construction | Neom (ca. $500) | Designed as completely using renewable energies and low-carbon technologies. |
Dumat Al Jandal Wind plant: 400 MW | Under construction | |||
United Arab Emirates | Noor Abu Dhabi Solar PV: 1177 MW | Under construction | Masdar City ($18–22) | Originally as carbon-neutral city, extensive use of renewables and energy certifications. |
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Phase I: 13 MW, Phase II: 200 MW, Phase III: 800 MW, Phase IVb: 250 MW, Phase Iva: 700 MW, Phase V: 900 MW | Phase I-III: completed; Phase IV: under construction; Phase V: planned |
Energy Transition Trends | Main Characteristics | Immediate Outcomes | Long-Term Extrinsic Merits | Potential Adverse Effects and Risks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Megaproject-based provision | Utility-scale renewables provision; majority of renewables capacity through handful plants. | Centralization of energy provision; sustainability merits or energy transition (emission reductions, energy efficiency savings) dependent on megaprojects (energy plants and planned cities); national energy certification systems applied to megaprojects. | Exploitation of the energy transition in a regional, state-based competition and among global cities; accentuation of spectacular master planning and large-sized infrastructure design. | Symbolic fulfillment of sustainability requirements; inefficiencies in design (e.g., segregation or oversized systems); magnification of risks from critical infrastructure failures. |
State-dominance in the renewables market | Public control and participation in renewables energy markets; hidden subsidies to energy providers. | State-dominance of energy markets; creation of public job in renewables sectors; differentiation of actors and regulations in energy provision; state-led measures to decrease energy intensity of economies. | Extension and diversification of rentier states’ instruments; expansion of public sector actors in energy infrastructure; advancement of less distortionary energy subsidy systems. | Limited competition in the energy sectors; continuation of disincentives created through rentier state mentalities. |
Incorporation of a nuclear option | Inclusion of nuclear energy as a part of future energy mix policies in some GCC states. | Construction of major, large-scale nuclear power plants; creation of nuclear energy actors for regulation, research and management. | Conveyance of primacy and power in the regional rivalry; minimization of energy (gas) supply dependence from neighbors. | Heightening of geopolitical tensions; increased requirements for energy safety and risk management. |
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Al-Saidi, M. From Economic to Extrinsic Values of Sustainable Energy: Prestige, Neo-Rentierism, and Geopolitics of the Energy Transition in the Arabian Peninsula. Energies 2020, 13, 5545. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215545
Al-Saidi M. From Economic to Extrinsic Values of Sustainable Energy: Prestige, Neo-Rentierism, and Geopolitics of the Energy Transition in the Arabian Peninsula. Energies. 2020; 13(21):5545. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215545
Chicago/Turabian StyleAl-Saidi, Mohammad. 2020. "From Economic to Extrinsic Values of Sustainable Energy: Prestige, Neo-Rentierism, and Geopolitics of the Energy Transition in the Arabian Peninsula" Energies 13, no. 21: 5545. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215545