Oil-Rich Dubai Spending Big On Huge Solar Facility

In an area of the world with no shortage of sunlight, awash in oil wealth (and being able to detect the way the cleantech wind is blowing...) and with a penchant of late of doing things to the n-th degree it should come as no surprise that the Middle East's largest solar panel manufacturing facility will be built in Dubai.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[noozone]

Remember when America used to pride itself of leading the world in new technologies? When we made sure that if there was going to be a "biggest" anything, it would be built in the US by Americans?

We sold our leadership for the lie that free markets will always serve our interests, that business will take better care of Americans than Americans could themselves through their government.

Thank god that we got Obama and not McCain... at least Obama understands that the future of our economy (not to mention the feasibility of this many humans living on the planet at once) is dependent on moving away from a carbon based economy ASAP.

[DC]

Dubai is not oil rich. Dubai has practicaly NO oil resources. Once again Huffpost headline writers show their stuff.

[jahzilla]

Dubai may not have the juice, but the myriad oil corporations, service companies and speculators that home-base there place them as the Mid-east hub in moving energy globally. From the UAE to Royal Dutch to Halliburton, etc.
This status gives them as much economic power and political influence as the war-torn nations that hold the crude keys just next door. Probably more so.
Think of Dubai as "the Hong Kong in the desert".

[Javani]

It's also in a desert--a very dry one at that. Where solar panels are effective, especially with their Arab brothers offering no oil discounts.

Not clear if these panels are for roof top water warming.

[KillTheMessenger]

UAE is oil rich. It just happens to sit on the Middle East's fifth largest oil reserves. And Dubai happens to have made tons of money from oil when it had a population of only a couple ten thousand people. Those who got rich during the early time seem to have made really good use of their money, because now Dubai makes most of its revenue with other investments than oil and gas. So there is your post-oil success story.

[NoWMDs]

Dubai has lots of oil, but they're thinking ahead with their economic strategy. They know that when the oild is depleted, they will have no economy left, so they're banking on tourism to keep the future money flowing and they'll be energy independent with alternative energy like wind and solar. That's what we should have done in the '70's. Just think, we would have cleaner air, and 9/11 would just be another day in September.

[jahzilla]

Evolution Solar (EVSO) just announced today, the release of a photovoltaic panel that is 33% more efficient, outputting 300 watts, compared to 200 watts within the same footprint. This is a small group out of Arizona and apparently now have raised the bar for homes and businesses who just don't have the footprint for adequate generation.
This is a huge step forward!

[jahzilla]

Sorry, tuesday is not my day for math.

Evolution Solar has released panel today that is 1.5 times more powerful as the previous panels available.

Getting that 2nd cup of coffee right now.

[KillTheMessenger]

Evolution Solar does not seem to be doing anything but talking about themselves. I can not tell what they are selling, what they are producing or what added value they are bringing to the table.

[jahzilla]

Look a little deeper.

Evolution's current (patented) technology has been affirmed and they have already opened a manufacturing facility and a second office in China. They have also just received the contract to provide solar panels for a 700kw energy efficiency and renewable energy project in upstate New Jersey from Atlantic Energy Solutions Inc., a globally accredited Energy Efficiency and Resource Company and member of NAESCO.

Some people also remember the criticism Apple received which sounded a whole lot like:
" . . . does not seem to be doing anything but talking about themselves. I can not tell what they are selling, what they are producing or what added value they are bringing to the table."
I guess for some, " advancing vision" is something that simply means getting glasses.

[Oldbuck]

Looks like they are smarter than we are we have let major oil roll over the whole damn country in the United States and until we get control of it we are doom to fail with any energy policy. If you think that major oil is not going to fight renewable energy policies you are crazy. They buy all this advertisement tell us how much they are investing in alternative energy if you believe this I got a bridge would like to sell you.

[Pulemerci]

An oil rich country drilling and selling its oil while developing alternative energy sources. Something that we should be doing NOW!

[mervr1]

Once again the US is behind the 8 ball on investing in technological advances or any positive advances to build up our country.

Sure Dubai has more money due to oil profits, but the United States is supposed to be the most powerful nation but unfortunately it hasn't been proving it lately.

[Mr Grey]

Why would an "oil rich" nation do this? Because oil will soon be scarce. Solar and alternatives will be the next primary energy source for every country. The American leadership have buried their collective heads in barrels of oil so they can't see the future. Fortunately most people I know are starting to go green. It is mostly in small ways for now, CFL bulbs, reusable bags and using more mass transit. In these tight times most of us will have to start small and build up to more as we can, but it is a start.

Let us hope the next administration will step up and give us a real energy plan. If not, we will be in a deep hole with no way out.

[JessWonderin]

Gee, you think NOW maybe Utah ought to rethink drilling in the National Parks and decide to explore a little clean high tech solar industry that will last long after the last well runs dry under the Great Arch National Monument . . . . .?

We better move fast or we will be stuck buying Middle East Solar panels/technology/energy and be wishing for $200 barrel cheap oil to run the basement generators . . .

[JulieSA]

Maybe instead we can just pave over the national parks with solar arrays. They take up a huge amount of acreage, especially when you average out it per MW.

[jahzilla]

Hmmm . . .
In Bush's remaining days as governor of Texas, he introduced a bill that would privatize that state's parks, promoting the building of golf courses, allowing McDonalds to be built and the drilling for oil and gas.
Needless to say, the bill was laughed off the floor.

But, considering the millions of acres of BLM and tribal lands that have very little aesthetic or recreational value, we (and the indian nations) have ample room for solar and wind generation. I'd say that provides a better (alternative) usage potential than gaining only 9 months of energy from drilling in ANWAR!

[lenzorizzo]

They must be building a solar bomb...yeah, that's it. Now we gotta smoke 'em out and stop 'em.
GWB

[Chironomid]

Bahrain is another small, oil-rich MidEast country gradually but steadily moving off of oil. Very smart... they know these transitions take time, and you don't wait until the last drop of oil comes from the ground before you get moving. And the desert nations are really well poised for solar -- the super-low humidity facilitates maximum solar power generation.

And here, Rome burns, Nero fiddles..

Sigh......

[blytzd]

They must be a terrorist nation like Iran... why else would they not want to use oil?

[chewie2008]

Now that`s how you do it.

[iPolitics]

8 years of George Bush/Republicans and UAE is ahead of us in solar energy.

[Egalitare]

When the oil barons are ahead of you in Alternative Energy, you know you have F*#@%D Up!!

[mooph]

What's that old saying about owning a bar? "Don't drink your profits"?

[alvdh1]

It is my understanding that they have no shortage of sun or money. It's all about jobs. Perhaps the Republican's will take notice on their next lobbyist paid trip. But again, to them, its all about oil.