Publications

Electric Vehicle Deployment and Carbon Emissions in Saudi Arabia: A Power System Perspective

Amro Elshurafa, Nawaz Peerbocus

A power system model for Saudi Arabia was built to quantify the carbon emission implications of deploying electric vehicles (EVs) within the Kingdom. The model represented the four operating regions in the Kingdom as segmented by the electricity regulator.

Elshurafa, Amro

Peerbocus, Nawaz

Trends in Global Solar PV Installation

Amro Elshurafa

Dozens of governments around the world have supported, and still support, renewable energy technology deployment, including solar photovoltaics (PV). This has been driven by their ambitions to be energy independent, meet carbon emission reduction targets, and contribute to their domestic…

Elshurafa, Amro

The Potential of Distributed Solar PV Capacity in Riyadh: A GIS-Assisted Study

Abdelrahman Muhsen, Amro Elshurafa

Rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, commonly referred to as distributed generation (DG) solar systems, can play a central role in the energy mix for sustainable cities. As with all forms of power generation, DG carries technical, financial, policy, and market…

Muhsen, Abdelrahman

Elshurafa, Amro

Crude Oil Use in the Saudi Electricity Sector

Thamir Alshehri

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken several measures to promote sustainability in its electricity sector. In 2016 and 2018, the government of Saudi Arabia introduced a range of reforms as part of Saudi Vision 2030 to modernize the economy…

Alshehri, Thamir

An Improved Understanding of The Balance of System Costs Can Improve The Economics of Solar PV Projects

Amro Elshurafa, Nawaz Peerbocus

Much of the discussion around the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation has focused on the costs of PV modules that convert sunlight to electricity. The overall capital cost of a PV system consists of two components: the cost of…

Elshurafa, Amro

Peerbocus, Nawaz

Temperature Trends Across Cities in Saudi Arabia

Turki Alaqeel, Nawaz Peerbocus

KAPSARC examined temperature data for 11 cities spread across Saudi Arabia over 10 years. Except for Makkah, all cities in Saudi Arabia were warmer in 2018 compared with the national 10-year average. 

Alaqeel, Turki

Peerbocus, Nawaz

Is the Time Ripe for Private Investment in Interconnections in the MENA Region?

Shahid Hasan

Efforts to integrate power systems and markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are gaining momentum. With rapidly growing regional electricity demand, the development of an integrated electricity market…

Hasan, Shahid

Techno-Economics of Solar PV on Mosque Rooftops: Results from a Pilot Study in Saudi Arabia

Amro Elshurafa, Abdullah Alsubaie, Ayman Alabduljabbar, Shafi Al-Hsaien

There are an estimated 3.5 million mosques worldwide. The relatively large surface area of most mosque rooftops and their ubiquity in the Muslim world make them excellent candidates for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. Muslims congregate for prayers at mosques five…

Elshurafa, Amro

Abdullah Alsubaie

Ayman Alabduljabbar

Shafi Al-Hsaien

How does Saudi Arabia’s recent energy performance compare with other G20 countries?

Baltasar Manzano, Rolando Fuentes, Nicholas Howarth

The 68th annual edition of the BP Statistical Review, released recently, is a comprehensive account and analysis of global energy data. Saudi Arabia will be hosting the G20 summit in 2020, and the release of BP’s annual compilation provides a good opportunity…

Manzano, Baltasar

Fuentes, Rolando

Howarth, Nicholas

Using Insurance to Manage Reliability in the Distributed Electricity Sector: Insights From an Agent-Based Model

Rolando Fuentes, Abhijit Sengupta

Our results suggest that consumers would transfer some of the inherent risks of a blackout to the utility for a price lower than their willingness to pay to achieve their desired level of protection, creating economic value. The purchase of insurance would…

Fuentes, Rolando

AS

Abhijit Sengupta

Integrated Approaches to Decentralized Electricity Transitions

Electricity sector reform is a key part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation agenda, as set out in the Saudi Vision 2030 goals, and of achieving its renewable energy targets. The electricity distribution sector in the Kingdom is expected…

The Policymaking Process to Restart Japanese Nuclear Power Plants

Brian Efird, Saleh Al Muhanna, Imtenan Al-Mubarak, Shahad Turkistani, Faisal Al-Ghamdi

The Japanese government’s decision to continue restarting nuclear power is shaped by a combination of domestic political concerns, energy security challenges, and its ability to meet climate change commitments and targets. Nuclear power plants have started to come back online,…

Efird, Brian

Al Muhanna, Saleh

Al-Mubarak, Imtenan

Turkistani, Shahad

Al-Ghamdi, Faisal

Reorganizing Power Markets: A Reliability Insurance Business Model for Utilities

Rolando Fuentes, Jorge Blazquez, Iqbal Adjali

A market in which individuals pursue their own self-interest normally maximizes aggregate economic well-being. But households that install Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in order to obtain savings in their electricity bill, impose an external cost on other customers. At scale,…

Fuentes, Rolando

Blazquez, Jorge

Adjali, Iqbal

The Economics of Renewable Energy in the Gulf

Hisham Akhonbay, Imtenan Al-Mubarak, Sylvain Côté, Amro Elshurafa, Walid Matar, Shreekar Pradhan, David Wogan, Lama Yaseen

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) has been at the epicenter of global energy markets because of its substantial endowment of hydrocarbons. Yet countries in the region have also stated their intent to be global…

Akhonbay, Hisham

Al-Mubarak, Imtenan

Côté, Sylvain

Elshurafa, Amro

Matar, Walid

Pradhan, Shreekar

Wogan, David

Yaseen, Lama

Restructuring Saudi Arabia’s Power Generation Sector: Model-Based Insights

Bertrand Rioux, Axel Pierru, Nader AlKathiri

Saudi Arabia plans to reform and privatize its power generation sector as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. To provide analytical insights, we developed a model that simulates the restructuring of the electricity market, along with reforming fuel prices to…

Rioux, Bertrand

Pierru, Axel

AlKathiri, Nader

Can adoption of rooftop solar panels trigger a utility death spiral? A tale of two U.S. cities

Energy Research and Social Science

The growing penetration of distributed energy generation (DEG) is causing major changes in the electricity market. One key concern is that existing tariffs incentivize ‘free riding’ behavior by households, leading to a cycle of rising electricity prices and DEG adoption,…

Iqbal Adjali, Patrick Bean, Rolando Fuentes, Frederic Murphy, Steven O. Kimbrough, Mohammed Muaafa

Electricity Transmission Formulations in Multi-Sector National Planning Models: An illustration using the KAPSARC Energy Model

Walid Matar, Amro Elshurafa

The purpose of this study is to assess policy-relevant effects of incorporating a more proper representation of electricity transmission in multi-sector national policy models. This goal is achieved by employing the KAPSARC Energy Model (KEM), which is the first publicly…

Matar, Walid

Elshurafa, Amro

The Political Feasibility of Policy Options for the UAE’s Energy Transition

Brian Efird, Paul Mollet, Imtenan Al-Mubarak

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said it wishes to transition toward a less carbon-intensive energy system, both as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and as one of…

Efird, Brian

Mollet, Paul

Al-Mubarak, Imtenan

Technological Disruptions and Service-Based Business Models in the Power Sector

Electricity markets around the world are facing significant challenges from the demand and supply side of the industry. From the supply side, distributed energy resources, usually owned by third parties, are forcing utilities to re-evaluate their business models; while developments…

Transitioning to Liberalized Energy Markets

Some countries have successfully navigated the transition to using a free market to provide energy more efficiently, while others are only just embarking on this journey. This transition is a lengthy, costly and complex process. Consequently, lessons learned from their…