Dinesh Dhamija

For decades, oil-rich Middle Eastern nations have ignored the bounties from solar energy all around them in favour of extracting oil and gas from beneath their soil and seas. Yet as the reality of climate change and the tremendous advances in renewable energy technology take hold, the region is gearing up to become a powerhouse in a whole new way.

Dubai’s $14 billion Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Solar Park is already operating, with a further phase in progress, including a 262m-tall tower in the desert. The emirate has pledged a further $30 billion to fund a climate investment fund, alongside its existing Masdar renewable energy investment fund.

In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, ACWA Power is among the world’s most important power developers in emerging markets, competing with huge infrastructure developers from Europe, the United States and Australia. It has invested more than $94 billion in projects across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, many of them in solar, wind and hydrogen technologies.

Last year’s COP28 climate conference, held in Dubai, highlighted the dual role of Middle Eastern power players: they are in no hurry to decarbonise their economies, but leaders such as UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman have long spoken of their aim to decouple their economies from oil and gas. After all, one day it will run out, and demand is already falling.

By contrast, demand for renewable energy is increasing exponentially. Prospective solar-generated electricity in Gulf Cooperation Council countries will more than quadruple from 30 TWh this year to 130 TWh in 2030, according to the latest projections, while gas-generated electricity will level off and oil-based generation will fall by a half.

When you consider the extraordinary transformation of Dubai from a fishing village to a megapolis in a couple of generations, attracting millions of visitors each year, along with the determination of the region’s leaders to pioneer new societies and urban communities, it’s tempting to believe that the region can become a hotbed of renewable energy production. For all their faults, I prefer the enterprise and ambition of Middle Eastern states to the lethargy and corruption of oil-rich nations like Nigeria or Venezuela, which have fallen prey to resource curse.

The sooner the world – especially those countries like Saudi Arabia with almost nine hours of sunshine per day, all year round – recognizes that solar is the key solution to their energy needs, the sooner we will have a cleaner, more secure and less climate-threatened future.

Dinesh Dhamija founded, built and sold online travel agency ebookers.com, before serving as a Member of the European Parliament. Since then, he has created the largest solar PV and hydrogen businesses in Romania. Dinesh’s latest book is The Indian Century – buy it from Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1738441407/