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For all the things it says and doesn't say:

  • there's more than a bit of contempt for the incompetent Arabs who can't even manage to have enough energy for themselves despite their generous natural endowments;

  • the usual crap about coal being "cheaper" ("The question about coal is always the environment. It is definitely cheaper than using crude oil."), and about coal and nuclear being the only serious solutions to our energy problems;

  • the usual ignorance about electricity and gas being an infrastructure business, which you can't just turn on or off and need to, you know, plan and build (maybe not surprising for a publication from a country which has been similarly caught with its pants down with regards to gas supply....);

  • the failure to note that the Persian Gulf is the area with the highest growth in oil&gas demand, and the direct consequence this will have for their export capacity. This should be a wake-up call for us, but no...

And then we'll have articles telling us how surprising an unexpected it is that oil reaches $150 or $200 or more in the near future...

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Mon May 19th, 2008 at 04:20:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
And how bad the producer countries are to have domestic demand...
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon May 19th, 2008 at 06:01:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I would have thought the gulf states might have a significant solar resource to call upon.

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon May 19th, 2008 at 06:31:09 AM EST
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The Observer: How Africa's desert sun can bring Europe power (December 2, 2007)
Europe is considering plans to spend more than £5bn on a string of giant solar power stations along the Mediterranean desert shores of northern Africa and the Middle East.

...

Last week Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan presented details of the scheme - named Desertec - to the European Parliament. 'Countries with deserts, countries with high energy demand, and countries with technology competence must co-operate,' he told MEPs.

The project has been developed by the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Corporation and is supported by engineers and politicians in Europe as well as Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Jordan and other nations in the Middle East and Africa.



When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon May 19th, 2008 at 06:40:18 AM EST
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