Dubai eyes 'clean coal,' nuclear as power sources

[kristopher]

Dubai eyes 'clean coal,' nuclear as power sources

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

A senior energy official says Dubai aims to generate 20 percent of its power from "clean coal" and another fifth from nuclear energy in the coming years.

Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer gave few specifics on the projects Wednesday. The vice chairman of the city-state's Supreme Council of Energy spoke about the plans while announcing a global energy forum slated for April.

Dubai currently generates nearly all of its power by burning natural gas.

The Emirates' federal government is spending $20 billion to build the country's first nuclear power plant in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Al-Tayer wouldn't say whether Dubai would rely on that project -- slated to be completed by 2020 -- for its nuclear energy...

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JD94N02.htm

Too bad they don't have good renewable resources like solar in Dubai...

[joshcryer]

1. Their solar potential is outrageous.

I wish they'd get to it and build a CSP factory right there in the desert...

[NNadir]

2. Maybe they understand that, it wouldn't work. Even there, gas supplies are not unlimited.

[RogerBakwater]

3. sun power can be very powerfull!

Maybe they could get one of those power generators that has a bunch of mirrors and reflects it to a center point. Those make nearly as much power as lazers do. Pretty sure I saw a show about them once and this was what they said.

[davidinalameda]

4. did that show have a British guy in a tux drinking martinis

shaken not stirred

[RogerBakwater]

5. not sure about a tux...

pretty sure it was a british guy, but he was bald.

[yop]

7. Sandstorms probably wreak havoc on solar facilities. n/t

[StarsInHerHair]

9. about as much havoc as those glass towers

I'm sure.

[kristopher]

6. Nuclear/coal, coal/nuclear - heads they win, tails you lose.

Coal and nuclear are two sides of the same coin...

Remember the Calvert Cliffs reactor deal EDF had with Constellation - the one that fell apart because the economics of nuclear suck?

The total deal was that Constellation would be EDF's frontman in the USA in order to get access to the public pocketbook and EDF would buy upwards of 12 coal plants from Constellation.

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/company-news-story.aspx?storyid=201010270950DOWJONESDJONLINE000436

Nuclear/coal, coal/nuclear - heads they win, tails you lose.

[StarsInHerHair]

8. yeah the most obvious choice is solar

both light & heat versions.