2009-01-06 - ABB talks about the renewable energy market in the first-ever press release for the World Future Energy Summit 2009, which was released by Turret Middle East - the show's organisers.
If someone had said five years ago that the largest conference and exhibition in renewable energy was in Abu Dhabi, you probably would have laughed. However, the World Future Energy Summit has broken all kinds of records and won numerous international awards. With the EU market regulations stalling and general downturn in investments in renewable energy, what attracts 300 companies to exhibit in Abu Dhabi?
“In terms of policy and leadership, the response from the Middle East is quite revolutionary”, said Prashant Kapoor, Director of Sustainability, WSP, when asked about the demand for green building solutions.“In the west, people are ahead of the developers in demanding sustainability. In the Middle East, it’s the leaders and the corporations that are driving this”.
So sustainability is more than a buzz word. However, companies cannot survive on principles and need business. According to Hans Sulewski, technology manager for ABB’s process automation for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region “In the MEA region there are constantly new projects announced for developments in various industries. These developments require a tremendous amount of power. ABB's portfolio of equipment and control systems can optimize the use of energy throughout various production processes. We seeing more and more customers enquire about our solutions to gain not only energy efficiency but cost efficiency as well.” The United Arab Emirates ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2005 but has struggled to keep their carbon footprint under control. However, with initiatives such as MASDAR and The World Future Energy Summit, Abu Dhabi is positioning itself to be a major energy provider wherever the future of energy lies.
According to the Lionel Fretz, C.E.O of Carbon Capital Markets,”we have seen the development of a clear and strategic focus on renewable power generation and low carbon technologies in Abu Dhabi. They have announced plans to spearhead a $7 billion CDM market in the region.” Clean development mechanism (CDM) is a system for carbon offsetting set up under the Kyoto Protocol, governments can invest in greenhouse gas reduction projects and use it as credit against their own pollution.
One of America’s largest engineering firms, CH2M Hill, has seen a seen a shift in the Abu Dhabi market from traditional energy resources to renewable. “Thanks to the leadership in UAE, the business opportunities have increased significantly around the renewable energy, which attracts companies like CH2M HILL to Abu Dhabi.”
But you cannot forget about the basic competitive advantage of the Middle East: no taxes, labour flexibility, strategic location within a region of two billion people and the transportation hub that it has created. “The Gulf provides the right environment to developers and equipment suppliers to establish launching pads covering a vast market for renewable,” said Patrick Blanchard, global head of project and sectorial finance, Dexia.
Prashant Kapoor, Lionel Fretz and Patrick Blanchard will all be speaking at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in Jan 19-21st. John Mogge, Senior VP of CH2M Hill will be speaking also. ABB are participating in the WFES exhibition.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people.