The unlikely candidate for geothermal development – United Arab Emirates
Green Mubazzarah, Al Ain, UAE (source: flickr/ Peter Dowley, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
28 Feb 2018
Still ongoing studies by UAE University point to geothermal potential in the United Arab Emirates that could justify development and utilisation of geothermal energy for power generation.
With a research project started last year, the United Arab Emirates has been exploring the potential of geothermal energy utilisation. The project has been undertaken by UAE University (UAEU) whose researchers are studying the geological sites in Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah.
As part of their research work, the scientists have been examining hot water spring reservoirs and analyzing their temperatures and sizes.
Researchers found out that the water temperature reaches to as hot as 120 degrees beneath the surface of about 3 kilometers deep.
The project started in January 2017 with the goal of understanding the possibility of using geothermal energy in the UAE, said Dr Hakim Saibi, associate professor of geophysics at UAEU, and one of the researchers.
According to Dr Saibi, the findings did point to the possibility of tapping geothermal energy in the UAE.
“The potential for using geothermal energy is good. Based on our findings and the data gathered at the sites, we can produce around 1,000 megawatts of electricity using the geothermal energies from these areas,” he said.
“We can use this energy to power hundreds of homes, and it is done without producing any CO2 emissions, so it is a very clean and reliable source of energy,” he added.
Source: Concept News Central
