By: sault

sault — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:29:00 +0000

Keep in mind that the citizens of Gulf Nations (not the 3rd country nationals that provide their labor base) usually have multiple very large houses, multiple very large cars while opulent shopping malls have spread out across the sand and highrise buildings have defined their skyline. All this square footage has to be air-conditioned against the searing heat for around 9 months of the year or longer. If oil production in any of these countries should peak (if it hasn’t done so already), you will see a massive crash of their economy and a massive downturn in energy usage since the vast majority of the economic activity in these countries is built either directly or closely-tied with oil exports. Over the course of a few years, the 1% – 10% targets might become 5% – 50% if the crash leaves the existing renewable energy installations in place. By 2020, we might start getting the first indications that some of the countries with smaller oil reserves might be close to being tapped out.
If one country gets tapped out, the world will demand greater transparency into reserves accounting and some of the other countries with smaller reserves, or even the “big boys” like Saudi Arabia, will have to lift the curtain on their “creative” reserves and production accounting. What they find there is probably going to be troubling to say the least. And if oil prices get so high that it’ll cost way too much for them to burn it in their power plants or desalinate water with it instead of exporting it, these countries will be glad they had some renewable energy to fall back on.

Comments on: Gulf Cooperation Council’s Renewable Energy Targets — Considerable Or Weak?

By: sault