Afraid of the N-Word?
I'm not sure what to make of the article's failure to even mention UAE's (or Saudi Arabia's) nuclear programs, despite the fact that they are doing far more in the nuclear area than they are with renewables.
It discusses 10 MW solar plants, but doesn't talk about the fact that UAE will build almost 5000 MW of nuclear capacity before 2020, compared to 1500-1800 MW of renewable *capacity* (which will operate ~25% to ~33% of the time, vs. ~90% for nuclear). In other words, UAE's annual nuclear generation (in kW-hrs) in 2020 will be ~10 times as much as its generation from all renewables. The Saudis are planning to build 16 large nuclear plants.
I agree with these nations' decision to move away from oil and gas for domestic power generation, and understand their reasons for their doing so (some of which are discussed in the article). However, the truth is that nuclear is their main focus in terms of non-fossil power generation, and their shift away from oil and gas power generation.
