Business Sustainability in the Middle East – How Solar Energy Use can be Effectively Commercialized in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East
Abstract
The objective of this paper was to study this option from the perspective of the United Arab Emirates and Middle Eastern Countries. This paper is a proposal for a qualitative exploratory research that aims to identify both the challenges and opportunities in relation to solar power generation and commercialization, and the introduction of sustainability management methods and strategies in the UAE and the Middle East. The target population would be the people working in power generation firms in the Middle East. They will be interviewed as to the feasibility of the said concept. The total time allocated for this study would be three months. So far, the consensus is that the UAE and Middle Eastern countries should make their political, social, and economic landscapes more conducive for renewable energy companies to sprout and thrive in the long run. This means that they should introduce policies and regulations that support the establishment of new solar energy companies and encourage the public to make use of the services that those newly established companies offer so that the industry can grow substantially in the long term.
The objective of this paper was to be able to examine, from a research-backed perspective, the feasibility of implementing a sustainable business model in the Middle East, and more specifically in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The use of solar energy has long been identified as a potential replacement source of clean energy . One key advantage of solar energy over other energy sources both clean and sustainable . It has little to no carbon footprint .
A lot of progress can be made for UAE and other countries in the Middle East in terms of solar energy commercialization . Thanks to the consistency of the UAE government to support more sustainable forms of energy production, its domestic solar energy industry now supplies around 15% of the country’s total energy demand . This is a significant breakthrough considering the fact that the size of the country’s solar energy industry was much smaller, at between five to ten percent, years ago. The same can be said on the Middle East’s solar power industry .
What are the specific research questions? How do these contribute to the literature, and why they are interesting?
The general question that this paper aims to undertake asks “what will it take to fully commercialize solar power generation in the United Arab Emirates”.
There are numerous variables involved in the solar power generation scenario in the UAE and in the Middle East as a whole. In order to factor in those variables, two specific research questions—both of which are related to the main one, were created. They are:
How can we make the solar energy enter commercial effectively in Middle East in general and UAE in specific?
In order to make solar energy truly commercially viable in the Middle East and the UAE, the respective national and regional governments and jurisdictions of these two entities must first be recalibrated. Currently, the political, social, and economic landscapes in the UAE and the Middle Eastern countries are not conducive enough for solar energy industry players to sprout and thrive . The UAE and Middle Eastern countries’ governments should introduce political and economic policies that incentivizes the establishment of solar energy companies and the consumption of the services that those newly established companies offer . Ultimately, voluntary participation of the members of the private business sectors should be encouraged by the government so that the market and eventually the entire industry can grow substantially.
How can we introduce sustainability management methods and strategies in for the next 50 years in the Middle East in general and UAE in specific?
According to a report published by the International Energy Agency, solar power is going to be one of the top sources of energy fifty years from now, towards the year 2060 . It was mentioned in the said report that at least a third of the world’s supply of energy can be from the solar power industry. The IEA is known for its historically conservative estimates when it comes to the growth potentials of the international solar power industry and so its bullish 50 years forward prediction on the future of solar energy can be seen as a game changer.
European countries are believed to be the ones who would spearhead the development of the solar power industry in the decades to come. The European Renewable Energy Council has set forth an agenda that aims to make the European Union residents reliant only on renewable energy sources (i.e. notably solar) by the year 2050, towards full sustainability. What the UAE and Middle Eastern countries can do to fully introduce sustainability management measures and strategies in their respective jurisdictions is to establish a similar organization that would serve as a regional energy council. After which, they should also create an agenda or a long term vision to wean themselves from nonrenewable energy sources. The UAE and the Middle Eastern countries can make use of the EU’s renewable energy agenda’s elements as a pattern in creating their own. Some of the key elements include the incentivizing solar and renewable energy industry players through tax cuts, subsidies, and other means of government support .
How can the sustainability management efforts boost the economy in the Middle East in general and UAE in specific?
The sustainability management efforts and strategies that the UAE and the Middle Eastern countries are going to implement can boost the economy in numerous ways. The renewable energy industry, particularly solar, creates jobs. This is because the solar energy industry relies on a complex network of supply chain network players (e.g. equipment manufacturers, maintenance service providers, distributors, and etc.). Numerous individual companies can be established from scratch as a result of a burgeoning solar energy industry. As a result, thousands of new jobs can be created. This would then have a positive impact on the economy through lower unemployment rates . Another impact of sustainability management—through solar energy, on the economy would be savings on energy expenses and therefore a lower level of energy dependence (on non-renewable and often more expensive sources) .
The general and specific research questions can contribute to overall process of being able to determine whether increasing the size and constitution of the solar power generation industry in the UAE and in the Middle East is a theoretically feasible notion. What makes the overall conceptual framework that these research questions create interesting is the fact that they address both the positive and negative aspects of the issue in question which is the commercialization of the solar power generation process—the proposed sustainable business model, in the target markets.
What will be its contribution to the existing knowledge on the topic?
If there is going to be a geographical area in the globe where solar power generation would face the biggest hurdles, it would be in the Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. This, as previously published studies would support, comes as a result of the combination of social, economic, and political factors in the existing global energy generation landscape. For one, it is in the best economic interests of the Middle Eastern countries to make sure that the world continues to be less reliant on solar energy because a world that is dependent on renewable energy sources would make them less significant in the world stage . This means that it would be rational for them to be indifferent or even unsupportive of any energy generation movement that would lead to the erosion of the global economy’s reliance on non-renewable sources. This can be seen as a conflict of political and economic interest that may make it more challenging for the UAE and Middle Eastern countries to train themselves to become more dependent on sustainable and renewable energy sources, notable solar. By checking if the development of solar energy in the UAE and the Middle East is feasible, other countries may be able to see it as an inspiration in creating their own sustainability efforts.
What methods will be employed?
For this paper, a qualitative research method and approach will be employed. An exploratory research design will also be utilized. The author of this paper aims to interview a small number of professionals who are working in a Middle Eastern power generation firm. The goal of the interview is to be able to be able to answer all of the research questions, both the general and specific. Part of the objective of the paper would also be to check the overall feasibility of the commercialization of the concept of solar power generation in the said countries; to check the impacts of the sustainability efforts and methods on the economy, and how those sustainability efforts can be introduced in the UAE and the Middle East in the first place. The total time frame allocated for the study would be three years. This includes the time needed for the research proposal to be approved until the time that the final manuscript gets finished.
Why this industrial setting was chosen?
This industrial setting was chosen because of the type of knowledge that can be acquired from the prospective results and findings. The generation perception is that the energy generation industry is a highly technical field. In this case, however, the author is aiming to tackle it using a social perspective, by interviewing real industry professionals about their take on the issue. Questions like whether they think solar power generation in the UAE and Middle East will be a good, profitable, and feasible idea would most likely be asked. In the end, the goal of this paper is to contribute to the already existing body of evidence and literatures about the different ways how to overcome the challenges and hurdles involved in the commercialization of solar energy generation and the introduction of sustainability management methods and strategies.
Gant Chart
Below is a Gant Chart that shows how time for the proposed research project will be apportioned. It is worth noting that the Gant Chart only shows an approximation of the entire project’s schedule. There may be some changes that will be introduced as the research process progresses.
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