Because renewable energy supplies in the Middle East are intermittent, viable storage solutions are needed in the region to ensure long-term success and broad adoption. The Middle East has set robust sustainable energy goals, so battery storage is the next step to increase reliability of energy supply and infuse the ability to store excess energy when demand for power is low. Batteries also reduce carbon dioxide emissions and can respond nearly instantaneously to increased grid demand, unlike fossil-fuel plants, which can take up to a few hours to reach peak. Battery storage technologies in the Middle East can enable widespread integration of renewables, unlock grid flexibility, and bolster grid reliability.
The upward trend of renewables has brought unlikely bedfellows to alternative energy discussions. Particularly, the falling costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) power has ushered in a new era in which countries are increasing their renewable commitments to the Paris Agreement reached at COP21. Middle East countries, too, are beginning to diversify their energy sources, which seems contradictory to a region that is one of the world’s leading oil and gas producers. Yet the Middle East’s oil producers have set ambitious targets to add solar and wind capacities to their power mix in order to free up more crude for export. Specifically, the UAE aims to produce nearly half of its electricity through renewables by 2050, while Saudi Vision 2030 includes a target of 9.5 gigawatts by 2050. Battery storage will be a crucial element toward this regional shift to renewables.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, will tender around 3.25 Gigawatts of solar projects and around 800MW of wind this year, as it looks to produce 9.5GW of power through renewable sources by 2023. The UAE, the second-biggest Arabian Gulf economy, currently derives around 98% of its energy needs from gas. It has set a target to meet 44% of its energy needs from renewables, 38% from gas, 12% from fossil fuels, and the remainder from nuclear sources.
Why Battery Storage is Essential to a Middle East Shift to Renewables
Renewable energy sources like the sun and wind are affected by location, weather, and time of day. Thus, renewable energy generation creates a variable supply of energy. That’s where battery storage comes in.
The electricity grid is a complex system in which power supply and demand must be equal at any given moment. Constant adjustments to the supply are needed for predictable changes in demand, such as the daily patterns of human activity as well as unexpected changes from equipment overloads and storms. Energy storage plays an important role in this balancing act and helps to create a more flexible and reliable grid system. When used for energy storage, batteries can be located nearly anywhere convenient for distribution, such as a battery facility located near consumers to provide power stability, or end-use, like batteries in electric vehicles.
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