Considering the annual economical growth rate of more than 5% and the limited availability of fossil resources, GCC countries have few possibilities for attaining independence of fossil fuels. Despite huge investments in renewable resources, these are currently not sufficiently available to cover the pending energy shortfall. The ambitious aim to generate 30% of electricity by nuclear power in 2030 is prompting the governments to start as early as possible with implementation of nuclear power production. This new development in the energy sector covers a broad range of challenges and opportunities not only for Consultancies. Regarding the energy market, the fastest growing economy on the Arabian Peninsula is Saudi Arabia with an increase in power generation capacity from 25,790 MW in 2000 to 39,242 MW in 2008, amounting to 52% For a couple of years, the states on the Arabian Peninsula have been competing with each other, with the UAE seeking to be the first to set up a civilian nuclear power program and the preplanning phase going back to early 2006. UAE is one of around 15 countries in the Middle East with a serious interest in nuclear energy, other countries being Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The ambitious aim of the UAE government is to prepare detailed plans for acquiring skills and technology and for dealing with regulatory challenges. By 2020, the UAE government intends to have several nuclear reactors in operation which should meet almost one-third of the country’s electricity demand. The nuclear development program in the UAE is the most ambitious of all countries on the Arabian Peninsula followed by the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This analysis is chiefly targeted at German consultancy companies so that they can assess their status of strategic deployment and prioritize their activities to enter a new business sector in a foreign market. This publication could also be of relevance for policy makers, investors, suppliers as well as nuclear energy and governmental agencies to identify their need for external advisers to safely operate a nuclear power program. Furthermore it provides a guideline for how to enter a new market. Hence this analysis should be considered as an aid to identify hurdles and obstacles that have to be foreseen and so overcome. Potential business fields are also noted as well as important factors that have to be considered to minimize the chance of failure in the new market. Nevertheless, this huge market with its continuously changing constraints and conditions could throw up a lot more obstacles than could be covered in this analysis. Also the internal organizations of individual companies may differ from the one described in the analysis. The objective of this Analysis is thus to set out a set of guidelines for possible approaches.

Text Sample: Chapter 3.3, Renewable Energy in the UAE and KSA: Utility companies in the GCC states are under enormous pressure due to the global scarcity of fossil fuels, which are running out much faster than expected, consequently they are boosting also renewable energies. Governmental agencies have been instructed to review energy consumption in the Middle East and are seeking alternatives to meet the rising demand, which is also in line with the global environmental movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The long shoreline and high insolation throughout the year are optimal for generating wind, water and photovoltaic power. The following illustrate the efforts made by government agencies for the upcoming year: Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City is spending US Dollar 2 billion on promoting solar technology. Saudi Arabia is looking to position itself as a centre for solar energy research and so become a net exporter of energy sourced from renewables. Abu Dhabi is to build the world’s largest hydrogen power plant at a cost of US Dollar 15 billion. ‘Glance over the borders”: Jordan is assessing plans for constructing a wind farm while Qatar is considering solar power. 3.4, Pending Developments: Regarding upcoming developments, the two countries, UAE and KSA, have to be considered separately due to the primary resources that are available. Crude oil and natural gas reserves in Saudi Arabia will last decades more than the resources in the UAE. A further reason is that the quality and composition of the mineral resources are much less favorable in the KSA than in the UAE. This means that their firing for power generation is, for economic reasons, the only reasonable option for their exploitation. In the UAE the situation is different, as there the mineral resources are of much higher quality and are too valuable to fire in power plants. The price obtainable on the world petrochemicals market is much higher than the benefit derived from electricity generation. The UAE therefore has a greater incentive to diversify its power generation and to invest in technologies other than fossil fuels much earlier. Based on the financial and economic crisis, the ‘Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie’ expects a smoother growth of GDP in 2008 and 2009. This means that ongoing projects with a total CAPEX of US Dollar 378 billion will be postponed or abandoned. Despite these figures, the UAE will remain the most important project market for German companies in the Arabian region. Over the near term, between 2009 and 2011, the UAE expects investments of about US Dollar 540 billion. Showing high potential for investments of about US Dollar 24 billion is expansion of water production and power plant capacities. To participate in this development, frequent consultations and top-level meetings are held to strengthen the relationship between German industry and local agencies like DEWA (Dubai Electrical and Water Authority) and ADWEA (Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority). These authorities organize and guide all water and electricity projects, starting with planning and tendering through to commissioning. Over the past four years, energy consumption in the Emirate of Dubai has increased by around 10,000 GWh. As a consequence, the projection for 2010 is for a new electricity generation capacity of 9 GWe provided by power plants. Likewise electricity transmission has potential for growth. DEWA intends to award contracts annually for more than 6,000 km of HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission lines. DEWA has an estimated annual budget of US Dollar 2 billion.

• Arabian Peninsula

• Consultancies

• stratigic positioning

• nuclear Energy

The author Felix Wilde was born 1980 in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. After his practical education as a carpenter he studied Civil Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart. During his study he worked as an intern for Paul Wurth SA in Luxembourg. He completed the study with the Diploma Thesis Dismantling of nuclear Power Plants and the German opting out of the nuclear energy program” (in German). He started his occupational career in 2006 at Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, Germany a worldwide recognized consulting company in the energy sector. Mr. Wilde has been involved in several large scale Power Plant Projects all over the world. In 2009 Mr. Wilde started in parallel to his professional job an advanced education in an MBA- Program at the University of Augsburg (GER) in cooperation with the University in Pittsburgh, PA (USA), with the focus on cooperate management. He completed the Master Program with the final thesis in November 2010.