The Sultanate of Oman is one of the countries located in the south-west of the continent of Asia, specifically in the eastern Arabian Peninsula. It is well known that Oman is one of the countries that rely entirely on fossil fuel. Oman began drilling for fossil fuel in the mid-1960s. Where it was the beginning of the Renaissance and the economic revolution in the country.
Two of the government oil drilling companies have emerged, the petroleum development of Oman (PDO) and Oman oil refiners petroleum industry company (ORPIC). Then, many oil-based industries, including engine oil, lubricants, fertilizers and pesticides, began to manufacture. Since then and to this day, Oman and the Gulf States have been dependent on oil entirely in industries and energy production. Where the rate of the use of oil is approximately for“Almost 99% of its power generation is based on natural gas”(Albadi, 2009).
With this huge use of fossil fuels, the quantity started to decline and this source is threatened to run out in the near future. It is difficult to rely on this non-renewable source of energy production. As a result, other sources of energy must be sought to cover any shortage in energy caused by fossil fuels. There are many renewable sources of energy that Oman can use to generate power, including solar power, wind power and turbines. But with the study of the geographical nature of the Sultanate of Oman solar energy is the appropriate source of use. Using solar energy as an alternative source has many benefits for the country.
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The non-renewable energy sources have affected the sultanate of Oman environment by causing global warming and economic issues. The global warming has become a big danger for the human beings and creatures on the earth. As the statistic shows that they regarded natural gas to remain for only 60 years in the whole world (Stambouli, 2015) . The industrial revolution and the resulting gases increase the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The main reason behind that is the large quantities of fossil fuels of oil, coal and natural gas combustion.
For example, the burning of gallon of gasoline used as fuel for cars produces a huge amount of kilograms of carbon dioxide and the amount of gas produced by the burning of these fuels is estimated at about billions tons per year, which goes into the atmosphere around the globe (Wiley, 2012). As people continue to use fossil fuel as their main source of energy the percentage of carbon dioxide will form a dense layer of the gas in the atmosphere causing global warming.
Economically, non-renewable energy sources impacted the government budget. The increase in oil production by many exporting countries led to a significant decline in the prices of its sales, which led to fluctuating oil prices down and that impact country’s economy. As a result of the drop in oil prices, the labor market got impacted in a negative way. For example, “Low oil prices mean Oman faces rising unemployment ” and ‘The companies basically started laying off staff” (Deutsche, 2015). The impact of the labor market will bother the government and require them greater efforts to provide vacancies for employment. In addition, the rise in oil prices leads to a significant drop in the prices of goods that depends on oil in manufacturing. As a result, Oman will reduce the oil industries and that will lower the revenue of the country.
The sultanate of Oman consumes petroleum products in many areas. It uses oil to produce electric power, operation of factories, movement of transportations, as well as using oil is the raw material of many chemical products, including fertilizers, insecticides, plastic tools and medicines( (Pauceanu,et al, 2016). Most companies and factories depend on oil to operate their machines. Therefore Oman consumes a huge numbers of barrels of oil per day. As Oman keeps producing and consuming big quantities of oil the government expects that it will run out the petroleum products by 2040 (“Solar Energy in Oman…, 2017.”).
As Oman’s petroleum products running out in the near future, the government should find alternative energy sources that can be used instead of non-renewable sources. The use of renewable energies is the best option to move away from oil as the main source of energy and away from the constraints of the environment, and renewable energy is a source of economic resources necessary for industrial uses and the use of cooling and heating. There are many alternative renewable sources that Oman can benefit from and use to make their power supplies sustainable.
The Sultanate of Oman lies on the south-eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered by the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz (Pauceanu,et al, 2016). Also, it has borders with t the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen to the west and the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The weather in Oman is cold from December to February but the rest of the year is hot and dry. It “reaches maximum temperature sometimes as high as 50C in the summer season”(Chaichan, 2016).
The Sultanate of Oman has natural and technical elements to help it use of solar energy. As claims in the Solar Energy in Oman article “With its strong solar resources and existing universities, Oman has an opportunity to pioneer professional demonstration and monitoring capability as an international technology provider”(“Solar Energy in Oman…, 2017.”) . Which confirms that the location of Oman and the weather encourage it to use solar panels. The Sultanate is one of the countries most able to use solar energy as an alternative to oil and gas in the generation of electricity and uses of renewable energy, given the climatic conditions appropriate for the use of solar panels generating energy.
Moreover, Oman is characterized by drought and the presence of dust in a large proportion, which may lead to the negative impacts in the performance of photoelectric when using solar energy. Therefor, a group of researchers decided to collect dust samples to study them. They collected the dust from several areas in Oman like, Sohar, Saham, Liwa, Barka, Muscat and Al-Burimi. After the studied the impact of these dusts, the result shows that the dust in Sultanat Oman does not impede the work of solar energy(Kazem, et al, 2015).
There are many benefits of using solar energy in the Sultanate of Oman. Solar energy is sustainable, renewable and it is an energy that is not implemented. It is a natural energy source that can be used to generate other forms of energy. For example, as fuel for cars. Also Access to solar energy will not require much maintenance later, as the panels or solar panels will be installed once and then will work as efficiently as possible. In addition, people can use solar power plants and solar panels in homes without causing any emissions and do not cause any adverse effect on the environment.(Dogan, 2015). The progress in solar technology will continue to make it economically more efficient and low in cost.
The available solar energy sources and the big unused lands give Oman the opportunity to develop and expand the usage of solar energy. Solar energy is one of the best strategic and vital choice and solution for the Sultanate of Oman to produce electrical power. The government of Sultanate of Oman is keen to use solar energy in many areas to provide energy without any high costs and without any negative impact on the environment or any organism.
The government uses solar panels as “ an attractive option for the process of water desalination.” (“Solar Energy in Oman…, 2017.”). The desalination of seawater through solar (Alnajar, et al, 2015) .
Energy is based on cleaning water from salts, minerals, impurities and sediments through evaporation first, and then by intensifying the use of solar thermal energy in order to obtain clean drinking water. There are many benefits to use solar energy to desalinate seawater. First, not expensive and produces about five liters of clean water per day per square meter of land, thus providing fresh water to a large population. Second, Suitable for use in desert areas where freshwater is scarce and suitable for miners. Third, used to get salt in many countries around the world. Fourth, Environmentally friendly, where floating desalination plants can be established at long distances within the sea, thereby reducing noise and providing land of economic importance(Alnajar, et al, 2015) .
Furthermore, Oman start to use solar energy in agriculture. There are many benefits of that. First, heating the water since the animals husbandry in farms or factories needs to heat the water and air surrounding the animals. For example, Poultry is grown in modern farms in closed buildings. Farmers must carefully control the ambient air temperature, air quality , In order to achieve the health and growth of animals as much as possible. Also, all seasonal crops can be planted throughout the year in closed environments where farmhouses convert sunlight into heat, giving the ability of plants that need heat to grow in the winter.
The government of Oman also encourage homeowners to use solar energy their homes by installing solar panels in the rooftop. In homes solar energy can be used for many applications. For example, it can be used for electric power conversion to supply power for simple electrical appliances, home heating, water heating and cooking instead of using gas. In sum , using solar energy in the water desalination, agriculture will reduce the use of the non-renewable sources and save the environment from pollution.
There are a lot of companies supporting the use of solar energy and help to develop the solar system in Oman. GlassPoint is one of the most popular companies for solar energy in the Sultanate of Oman . This company has entered into agreement with petroleum development Oman(PDO) company for the construction of the official plates and supply Oman with solar energy( “Muscat Daily…” ,2018). They use this energy to light the street and heat the water. Also, Petroleum Development Oman company , in collaboration with GlassPoint are working to establish the largest solar power station in southern Oman(‘PDO Adopt Solar…” ,2017). By this way they “will save more than 3.1 million cubic metres of gas a year” (‘PDO Adopt Solar…” , 2017).
In conclusion, the Sultanate of Oman gained many benefits from using solar energy instead of petroleum products. Oman has the main factors to create large power pumps using solar energy instead of using fossil fuels and its negative side effects. The main benefit of using solar energy is to produce electrical power to ensure sustainable energy. However, Oman should not only depend on solar energy. The government should find different sources to keep the energy sustainable in the country in case any geographical changes happen in the future.
References
- Albadi, A H, et al. “Assessment of Renewable Energy Resources Potential in Oman and Identification of Barrier to Their Significant Utilization.” Elsevier, 9 Dec. 2009,
- Assessment of renewable energy resources potential in Oman and identification of barrier to their significant utilization. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032109000999#
- Alnajar, A., & Alam, M. (2015, September 6). A new desalination plant produces 100 thousand cubic meters per day … and completed in 18 months. Retrieved from http://www.ahram.org.eg/NewsPrint/431637.aspx
- Dogan, E. (2015). The relationship between economic growth and electricity consumption from renewable and non-renewable sources: A study of Turkey. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 52, 534-546. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.130
- Deutsche Welle. (n.d.). Continuing low oil prices cause crisis in Oman | DW | 17.07.2015. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/continuing-low-oil-prices-cause-crisis-in-oman/a-18584787
- Muscat Daily Oman News. (2018, June 10). GlassPoint partners with NAPCO to procure aluminium,Oman. Retrieved from https://m.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Business/GlassPoint-partners-with-NAPCO-to-procur
- Pauceanu, A. M., & Hammouri, M. S. (2016). Small and Medium Enterprises in Oman and GCC. Entrepreneurship in the Gulf Cooperation Council, 31-47. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-811288-5.00002-6
- PDO Adopts Solar Power For HQ Offices. (2017, January 22). Retrieved from http://www.pdo.co.om/en/news/press-releases/Pages/Adopts
- “Solar Energy in Oman: Potential and Progress.” EcoMENA, 26 Jan. 2017, www.ecomena.org/solar-energy-in-oman/.
- Wiley, J., & S. (des 18, 2012). Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=YH2K9eWsZOcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA199
