Exclusive Interview

The Middle East’s CO₂ emissions posted the fastest growth rate of any other region in 2014. With environmental regulations getting ever more stringent, now’s the time to act.

The Paris Climate Talks that took place between November 30 and December 11, 2015 brought climate change back into the spotlight, and with it, the role of renewable energy in tackling the problem. The International Renewable Energy Agency suggests that doubling the global share of renewable energy by 2030 would provide half the emission reductions needed to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, while energy efficiency measures could provide the rest.

Generating power and electricity in a more environmentally efficient and sustainable manner is increasingly gaining traction in countries in the Middle East. Companies like Masdar, a pioneer in the field, and frontrunner in the race to become a regional powerhouse in renewables, are constantly investing in new projects and technologies that both challenge and improve commercial energy production.

London-Array-Turbines

The UAE government has been actively seeking to promote the use of greener energy across the country, and Dr Nawal Al Hosany, director of sustainability at Masdar, firmly believes that renewable energy will continue to grow in prominence in the region.

“The issue of climate change and rising global temperatures is perhaps more salient here in the Middle East than anywhere else on the planet. For many years, climate action was synonymous with sacrifice. It was a matter of what countries and individuals would have to “give up” to reduce emissions and save the planet.”

She added: “Now, thanks in part to the growing business case for renewable energy and its centrality in the climate solution, climate action is increasingly being seen as a means to grow, stimulate the economy and improve livelihoods.

One of the factors to consider when talking about renewable energy, Hosany suggests, is the falling cost of technology used to generate cleaner energy.

“Falling technology costs are making the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy cost-neutral, while also creating jobs, boosting GDP growth, driving business and reducing emissions,” she said.

The role of sustainability in cleaner energy development is rapidly growing, but so are the challenges surrounding it, as Hosany explains.

“The energy choices we make in the next few years will determine the nature of the climate we will experience in our lifetime, and the kind of world we will leave for our children and future generations. Masdar is a reflection of the UAE leadership’s awareness that yesterday’s models cannot and will not provide a sustainable future for the people of the UAE. Since 2006, the company has invested over $1.7bn and already delivered on 1GW of renewable power projects around the world.”

As someone who’s spent decades in the field, Hosany admits that lack of awareness on sustainability can sometimes act as a barrier, but where there’s a challenge, there’s an opportunity and that’s exactly the kind of approach that Masdar’s been taking over the years.

“There is a need to raise awareness on adopting and incorporating basic sustainability practices across the region and beyond – from domestic to corporate adoption. Sustainability can be incorporated in organisations throughout the entire supply chain; it also adds significant cost savings through resource management,” Mr Hosany says.

Since its inception in 2006, Masdar has grown into a multi-million dollar company and a worldwide recognised brand.

It currently owns an impressive 1.5GW of renewable power projects in various global locations, both in operation and under development. Its biggest international investment at present includes the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 630MW London Array in the Thames Estuary, UK. The company also owns 35% share in the planned Dudgeon offshore wind farm in Britain, which is being developed with its Norwegian partners Statoil and Statkraft.

The Abu Dhabi based company recently told local media it aims to double its projects portfolio in the next ten years. In the Middle East, one of its key investments is the Tafila Wind Farm in Jordan, the first utility-scale wind farm commissioned in the region. The $238 million project is capable of producing 117MW of electricity, delivering 400GWh of electricity annually and displacing 235,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. With Morocco vowing to have 52% of its energy come from renewables by 2030, the market will be a key focus for the UAE’s flagship developer.

Tafila-wind-farm-in-Jordan

The company also plans to produce a staggering 1,500 m3/day of potable water over the next 15 months through its desalination programme in Ghantoot, Abu Dhabi, by using four specially designed technologies from four different companies. Ultimately, it aims for the large-scale deployment and implementation of one or more of these energy-efficient desalination technologies in the UAE and potentially across the wider Middle East and North Africa region, as well as internationally.

Another of its ground-breaking projects, the 100MW Shams 1 facility in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, which is also the largest concentrated solar power plant of its kind, can reduce CO₂ emission by up to 175,000 tonnes annually. Through GE’s Ecomagination 2020 Partnership, Masdar is working on implementing the first complete energy-neutral wastewater treatment process in the region.

The company has also increased its collaboration with local and international partners and foreign investment banks offering cash for green energy projects. In 2013, it signed a deal with the UK’s Green Investment Bank, while its Pacific Partnership Fund, a $50 million initiative, continues to deliver grant-funded renewable energy projects across four nations in the Pacific island.

Masdar, which started as a $15 billion initiative to diversify Abu Dhabi’s energy mix, today owns a designated capital investment fund for new investments and acquisitions abroad. It typically targets $15 million to $50 million in private equity for companies whose commercial revenue is at least $10 million. Geographically, its focus is mainly on mature markets like Europe and North America, but stretches far beyond to locations as remote as the Seashells and Fiji islands.

In the meantime, one of its pivotal projects, Masdar City – an eco-friendly urban development in the eastern parts of Abu Dhabi, is attracting foreign investment in the UAE and a growing number of private sector players. Slated to be the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, Masdar City is fast becoming a growing business haven for innovative tech start-ups, urban development planners, sustainability entrepreneurs and energy saving products and service providers.

Though in its early stages and the first of its eight neighbourhoods still under development, multinationals like Siemens have already made the CIty home to its Middle East operations. The structure it inhabits is the first LEED Platinum building to open in Abu Dhabi, while its “box-within-a-box” design contributes to an energy savings of about 63% compared to conventional office buildings in the emirate. Siemens also claims a 52% water savings for the building.

Investment in research and development is absolutely essential in all fields, and arguably, even more so in renewables. As one of the region’s primary advocate on new energy economy, Masdar’s approach on R&D appears to be both integrated and commercially driven. It combines higher education with scientific research, while also working to achieve collaboration with the private sector. At the core of Masdar City is the Masdar Institute of Science & Technology (MI) – an independent, research-driven university dedicated to advancing renewable energy and sustainable technologies, which is continuously looking for ways to collaborate with the private sector.

“We really see Masdar City as a “living laboratory” for low-energy use, low-carbon, low-waste technologies that can be piloted on site. Masdar City’s role is to create knowledge that diversifies the UAE economy, as well as to be the place where you build a community of innovation and research.”

Sustainable urban development is another area of investment, where Masdar’s been increasingly concentrating its efforts.

“We are on a mission to build the world’s most sustainable city,” states Al Hosany, her words both inspiring and visionary, hoping to shape, influence and transform perceptions on urban development not only in the Middle East, but worldwide.

“We consider Masdar proof of concept for a global sustainable city – if we can make sustainability work in the harshest climate in the world, than surely cityscapes around the globe can be adapted to meet the needs of the future. Masdar City is guided by the three principles of sustainability – economic, environmental and social,” says Al Hosany.

Higher penetration of renewable technologies with their variable generation characteristics will require many fundamental changes in the way that electric power systems are planned and operated to maintain reliable service and to do so economically, Ms Hosany explains.

“There are challenges in developing renewable generation technologies, such as further reducing the capital costs and improving energy efficiencies of the various types of renewable resources, such as wind, solar PV, solar thermal, and tidal.”

The sector is in dire need of meaningful and thought-provoking programmes to further the development of large-scale energy storage technologies, which remain significantly underexploited.

As Ms Hosany rightly points out: “To seamlessly integrate renewable resources in the grid, research and development must address challenges that high penetration levels will have in power system planning and operation, and in grid connection.”

Consistent regulatory and pricing regimes, another grey area that often gets neglected by decision-makers and industry leaders alike, is deterring investment and discouraging the pursuit of innovative-thinking among researchers.

“While the cost of renewables has declined to a level comparable with other energy sources, the lack of a level playing field in some countries when it comes to subsidies, taxes and regulations, inhibits the adoption of clean energy solutions.

“It is also harder to attract inward investment when governments don’t have a policy framework that allows investors to make long-term plans. To a lesser extent energy storage and grid management are also challenges.”

But none of these ground-breaking projects would have been possible without the help and technological knowhow of conglomerates with decades of experience in developing innovative, ground-breaking technologies like GE, Siemens, Schneider and Samsung on the one hand, and small and medium enterprises, service providers and product developers, on the other.

Without doubt, the company is en route to grow in size and bring more glory to the region. But to do so it will need help from viable and trustworthy partners capable of creating innovation that not only leads to new ideas but also has commercial application in the world, making a difference to people’s lives.

By: Dr. FAROUK EL-BAZ*

Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University, Boston MA 02215, U.S.A.

1  ABSTRACT

In January 2011, the youth of Egypt revolted against a corrupt government, which lacked vision and imagination.

Par Sami Ben Mansour

Contrairement à une idée reçue les temps ne sont pas toujours roses pour l’horlogerie suisse. Les principaux coupables : montres intelligentes et réseaux sociaux.

Selon une étude récente du cabinet mondial Deloitte, qui suit régulièrement les tendances du marché de l’horlogerie en Suisse, le pessimisme a atteint son niveau le plus haut depuis 4 ans dans le secteur de l’horlogerie suisse. En effet, 41% des cadres du secteur se montrent pessimistes contre seulement 14% qui gardent leur optimisme. La raison principale ? Le prix moyen des montres suisses exportées qui plafonne à 730 CHF, soit environ 675 euros.

Si la montre suisse pâtit d’un franc suisse de plus en plus fort, perçu comme un risque important par 69% des travailleurs du secteur, les mauvais jours de l’horlogerie helvétique sont causés par l’avènement d’une nouvelle manière de regarder l’heure, et pas seulement : la montre intelligente ou Smartwatch.

Jusque-là peu prise au sérieux par les industriels suisses, la Smartwatch décolle finalement depuis le lancement de l’Apple Watch, la montre connectée d’Apple. Il aura fallu qu’Apple sorte son tant attendu modèle de Smartwatch pour réveiller un marché balbutiant que Samsung et Motorola tentaient de créer avec les premiers modèles de montres connectées jetés dans l’arène. Mais c’est l’arrivée d’Apple, une référence en matière de supports mobiles connectés avec ses célébrissimes iPhone et iPad, pour que tous les yeux se tournent finalement vers ce nouvel objet de tous les désirs qu’est la montre connectée. L’impact de l’Apple Watch est d’autant plus important qu’Apple apporte son énorme bibliothèque d’applications mobiles pour bonne part adaptées à partir des succès commerciaux qui font fureur sur l’iPhone et l’iPad.

Mais pourquoi la montre connectée fait-elle si peur à l’horlogerie classique ? Et qu’est-ce qui fait déprimer autant les professionnels suisses du secteur ?

A la différence d’une montre classique, une montre connectée ne se contente pas de donner l’heure. C’est un véritable compagnon mobile, encore plus performant que votre téléphone puisqu’elle est en permanence scotchée à votre poignet. Avec une Smartwatch, regarder l’heure devient une action banale. Ce qui l’est moins c’est répondre aux appels téléphoniques, rédiger des SMS, recevoir des courriels, se rappeler des événements de son agenda… Mais surtout échanger sur les médias sociaux (Facebook, Twitter…). Et aussi jouer, se divertir… Sans oublier le nouveau marché de la santé et du sport. La montre connectée étant un outil parfait pour surveiller vos calories et mesurer vos prouesses sportives après un cours d’aérobic ou un jogging, tout en vous donnant une foule d’informations très utiles pour améliorer vos performances et vous maintenir en bonne santé.

Sur un plan plus macroéconomique, c’est la baisse de la demande chinoise pour les montres suisses qui inquiète également les professionnels. Surtout lorsque ce gigantesque marché s’intéresse de plus en plus à la montré connectée.

Mais tout n’est pas noir dans le ciel de l’horlogerie suisse qui continue de tirer son épingle du jeu grâce à un segment où ses produits sont réputés et demeurent difficilement imitables : l’horlogerie de luxe.

Pour donner un second souffle à la montre suisse, le rapport de Deloitte recommande l’optimisation des canaux de vente en s’appuyant sur les médias numériques, ce qui constitue un axe stratégique commercial important.

Par Sami ben Mansour

Dans un contexte économique de crise pour l’Union Européenne, la Suisse semble tirer son épingle du jeu. Certains observateurs dont François Garçon, universitaire et auteur du livre "Le modèle suisse" n’hésitent pas à parler de « miracle suisse ».

Pour ce fin observateur de l’économie et de la société suisses, ce pays est un modèle à suivre dont la force repose sur le dynamisme exceptionnel de ses PME, un système de formation excellent, une élite politique tournée vers l’économie et une gouvernance démocratique populaire qui a des préoccupations économiques parfois pointues.

Une économie vigoureuse portée par des PME dynamiques

En 2014, le taux de croissance économique de la Suisse a bondi à 2%. Plus du double de la croissance de la zone Euro qui n’a pas dépassé 0,9%. A démographie égale, le PIB suisse est deux fois supérieur à celui de la France. Il est également 30% supérieur à celui de l’Allemagne, l’économie la plus puissante de l’Europe. Le chômage (3%) est très faible en Suisse qui affiche aussi l'un des taux de chômage des jeunes entre 15-24 ans (3,6%) les plus bas de monde.

L’économie suisse repose sur des secteurs comme la pharmacie, la chimie, la mécanique de précision, l’horlogerie, et l’industrie alimentaire à haute valeur ajoutée, tous tirés par l’exportation. Le miracle suisse ce sont les PME qui représentent la majorité du tissu industriel.

Un système de formation performant centré sur les métiers

A la fin de la scolarité obligatoire, 70% des jeunes optent pour l’apprentissage dual. Il s’agit d’une filière d’excellence. Les 30% restants se dirigent vers le système universitaire suisse qui compte la seule université d’Europe continentale dans les 30 premiers du classement de Shanghai. Les universités suisses sont fortement cosmopolites : 28% des étudiants sont étrangers [1].

Des élites suisses à forte culture économique

Si la Suisse est business friendly c’est aussi grâce à son personnel politique, composé principalement de petits entrepreneurs, d’agriculteurs, de professions libérales, d’économistes… La Suisse a également adopté la culture économique de l’ « utilisateur-payeur ». Les citoyens se voient plutôt comme des contribuables et les électeurs sont ainsi particulièrement plus vigilants face aux politiques. Il n’est donc pas rare que les électeurs votent, par réalisme économique, pour l’augmentation des impôts pour financer l’amélioration de leur qualité de vie ou pour l’annulation de projets jugés inutiles pour baisser les charges publiques.

Une démocratie directe qui se préoccupe d’économie

La pétition est la pièce maîtresse de l’initiative populaire qui permet aux citoyens suisses de se prononcer aussi souvent qu’ils le souhaitent sur les questions qu’ils estiment importantes. Et l’économie en est une. En 2013, les suisses ont voté à 68% contre les rémunérations abusives des dirigeants d’entreprise.

[1] Office fédéral de la statistique