The UAE and Gulf region are in a position to harness and eventually export solar energy, a top official of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has said.
Helene Pelosse, the newly elected interim director-general of IRENA, said that UAE has a commitment to generate 7 per cent renewable energy.
"The Emirates is leading the movement (in the region) but I think the others might join them pretty soon, because the sun is going to be tomorrow's oil. We have 40 years of reserve of oil (globally) so we need to prepare for the future," Pelosse said in the interview to Gulf News. Pelosse added that the Gulf region might soon stop exporting oil before it is over as the concentration will be focussed on developing renewable sources of energy like solar power and wind power.
She noted that unlike a lot of other nations the Gulf region has the advantage of space in form of its deserts to build plants for renewable sources of energy.
"It's very difficult to build concentrated solar plants in France, for example, because we have a space issue. You cannot build them in any part of the world. You need special weather. The Gulf region is just blessed with that," Pelosse added.
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