The Arabian Peninsula (AP) is bounded between 10oN and 35oN latitude and 35oE and 60oE longitude with a spatial extent, which includes the offshore areas of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Gulf, and the northern part of the Arabian Sea. AP encompasses the countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen. Most of these countries rely on fossil fuel for their electricity supply.
Offshore wind energy potential in the AP region has not been fully investigated. Therefore, the new Representative Cost Ratio was used to to estimate the offshore wind energy suitability distribution for the seven countries in the AP. The methodolgy used and the results were published recently on the Renewable Energy Journal Volume 152, for more details about the approach. Click here.
The identified sites were analysed in terms of potential power capacities based on an 8 MW wind turbine which now seems to be the standard capacity being deployed in Europe and elsewhere. The results shown in suitability map indicate a cumulative regional capacity of up to 35 GW for the turbine capacity selected. This Middle East region has not seen any significant or meaningful development to exploit its offshore wind energy potential and this work and its outcomes has also addressed this gap in knowledge. The outcomes represent the first detailed assessment of the offshore wind energy potential for the Arabian Peninsula countries. This work will contribute to the stimulation of interest in the region of the importance of offshore wind as part of a regional energy mix.
Offshore wind energy Suitability Map around the Arabian Peninsula. Where zero score is not a suitable area, while a score of one represents areas of the highest possible suitability.
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