Source: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/why-oil-rich-countries-are-investing-in-solar/15350

Abu Dhabi, the most oil-rich of the United Arab Emirates, is now home to the world’s single-largest concentrated solar power plant. Shams 1 is a 100-megawatt power plant; a $750 million project producing enough energy to power 200,000 homes and stretching across the area of desert. This plan is west of the United Arab Emirates capital and is the size of 285 football fields! With the demand for energy around the world increasing exponentially, this region will undergo a major transformation in how it generates electricity. “In fact, the Middle East is poised for major investments in renewable energy, and Shams 1 proves the economic and environmental advantage of deploying large-scale solar projects”, said Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, a state-owned company behind the power plant. Saudi Arabia is also investing $100 billion in solar in order to produce one-third of its energy from this resource by 2032. It is being argued that countries such as these are investing in solar energy because they will use renewable energy as a long-term strategy to conserve their oil, rather than for a green initiative. Oil will be more profitable when it is sold to energy-poor countries in desperate need. The more solar electricity that oil-rich countries can produce, the more petroleum they can conserve to export. UAE President Shaikh Khalifa said, “The domestic production of renewable energy extends the life of our country’s valuable hydrocarbon resources and supports the growth of a promising new industry.”

Source: Why oil-rich countries are investing in solar, Tyler Falk, March 19 2013

Oil, the reason for a plethora of world issues. An alternative has been in the works to alleviate our reliance on oil, developers are calling it “green crude.” Green Crude is crude oil that is produced using algae. This alternative has been under research for years now, and finally, a company called Sapphire Energy in New Mexico has found a location to “launch a new green revolution in agriculture” (Environment 360, Marc Gunther). Sapphire’s plan is to turn a 300-acre piece of the desert into the largest algae farm the world has ever seen. Their goal is to produce 100 barrels of oil a day! There are many advantages seen using algae-produced oil. Some of these include a reduction of CO2 emissions, energy security by producing oil on our own land, and algae isn’t a food source for humans and animals like other ethanols being produced. There are numerous other companies world-wide currently developing crude oil from algae, including a company who developed jet fuel from algae.

Right now, there isn’t a world-wide consensus on the most effective way to produce oil from algae. Some companies focus on growing algae in ponds where others will grow algae in plastic containers. Algae presents itself as a very promising fuel alternative so it is essential to find the most efficient way to produce it. The main issue algae-oil produces encounter is the high costs. That is the main reason this technology hasn’t gone mainstream, it isn’t close to being cost competitive with current fossil fuels. Once that issue can get resolved, the hopes are that algae-produced oil will alleviate a lot of the problems we face!

Read more about the potentials of algae as well as the downfalls the industry could face in Environment 360′s article Green Crude: The Quest to Unlock Algae’s Energy Potential.