Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Bahrain entering nuclear age," screamed one newspaper headline. The kingdom is working with its GCC neighbours to introduce nuclear energy to benefit the economy and citizens.
But why do Bahrain and its hydrocarbon-rich GCC neighbours need nuclear energy? What happened to the gas resources in the Gulf?
Surprisingly, it is true that the region is struggling to find enough gas to meet future power demands and hence is looking towards alternative energy sources.
A key reason for the power shortage could be that the region's rapid growth rate, which hit 5.7 per cent in 2006, is straining its power infrastructure.
The electricity shortage is obvious. The recent economic boom in the Gulf brought its own problems - higher income, growing populations, increased numbers of expatriates and expansion of petrochemicals have increased the demand for electricity to unprecedented levels.
Consequently, an acute natural gas shortage is felt in basically every GCC country except Qatar. Several GCC cities have been witnessing power cuts and problems with water supplies. Also last summer, power stations in the GCC countries switched to firing fuel oil and raw crude oil as they did not receive sufficient gas supplies.
The heavy burning of liquid hydrocarbons, crude oil and petroleum products up to a total of around 1.5 million barrels per day witnessed in the GCC in the summer of 2006 recurred this summer too.
There are 114 active power generation projects of all types in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE worth a combined total of over $160 billion.
To compound things, due to leakages, ßaring, lack of modern seismic analysis and up-to-date geological interpretation, the average gas recovery rates in the Middle East are only around 10 per cent of the reserves.
In these circumstances, given its notoriety, is nuclear energy the answer?
It is no short-term or medium-term solution because it would take at least 15 years for a decision to build a nuclear industry getting translated into an operational plant.
What will the GCC do till such time? They will have to continue leaning on gas supplies and simultaneously tap renewable energy sources such as solar, wave and wind power.
In the meantime, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Company is understood to have sponsored a nuclear feasibility study with a budget of $4 billion.
This project is not connected to the GCC's nuclear programme, which has an outlay of $10 billion for the design, supply, build and operation of a nuclear plant for power generation and water desalination.
On the other hand, progress is also being made on the sustainable energy front. A design study is being carried out for a $500-million solar power plant for the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar.
The project is a large one with the scope calling for the design, supply, installation and operation of a 500 megawatts solar plant. It aims to decrease the use of oil and gas in power generation to preserve hydrocarbon reserves. The UAE's solar radiation is measured at 2,200 kilowatt hours per sq m per annum.
Also, in co-operation with the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Masdar is studying the possibility of building a hydrogen-fired power plant. The project is in the early stage of study and has a budget of $100 million. Meanwhile, Dubai is taking a lead in wind power research.
A study is being carried out for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority for a $1billion wind farm project.
The research is on wind as an alternative source for power in the region and is on a grand scale, aiming to meet up to 10 per cent of Dubai city's power requirement. The scope of work involves the meteorological study, design, supply, installation and operation of 70-metre-high wind turbines.
In addition, the growing energy demands of the region have also raised the prospect of clean-burn, coal-fired power stations.
A study into a $1billion coal-fired power plant is being carried out by Taqa, the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company.
Similarly, Oman is studying a $1billion coal-fired power generation plant at Raysut in southern Oman.
There are also major plans in Saudi Arabia for waste to energy plants. The plants aim to convert commercially hazardous, organic and toxic wastes into saleable electricity and potable water. One of the first plants could be in Jeddah with four to six more plants in major cities.
All the efforts to tap sustainable energy resources, although capital intensive, take the region in the right direction, especially when questions are raised the world over about the safety and sustainability of nuclear plants.
One has only to think of Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island meltdowns to understand that even the so-called developed nations have not fully come to terms with the safety aspects of nuclear energy and are still at a loss about how to deal with nuclear wastes.
