Belt and Road initiative boosts green energy along New Silk Road

ABU DHABI - China's Belt and Road initiative may boost green energy development along the New Silk Road, said comments from ongoing 10th edition of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) here on Tuesday.

The CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber and the chairman of the green energy company Masdar told Xinhua the WFES congress and exhibition China's Belt and Road policy "is one of the main pillars in the development for future energies.

They said the initiative closes gaps by building bridges between regions, which is essential to spur international cooperation to increase the use of renewable energy like wind, solar or hydro energy."

Dr Al-Jaber also said that the Belt and Road initiative puts the WFES host country United Arab Emirates (UAE) into the "center of gravity in relation to the rise of renewable energy along the New Silk Road."

UAE Minister of Energy Al-Mazrouei said Monday at the WFES that UAE aims to increase the share of clean energy in the total energy mix to 50 percent by 2050 from a mere one percent nowadays.

Ninety-nine percent of the UAE's domestic energy needs is as of today based on natural gas.

At the China Day held at the WFES on Monday, Dr Adnan Z Amin, director general of the Abu Dhabi-based supranational International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), said that the iniative is focused on financing new infrastructure projects along the New Silk Road and the global shift towards clean energy offers tremendous transnational opportunities for both large or medium and small firms.

As an example for intra-regional cooperation, Wang Zhongying, the director of China National Renewable Energy Center in Beijing, presented the ongoing construction of solar and water power projects between China and Pakistan in line with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

China's energy conglomerate Zonergy is currently completing the construction of the world's largest solar park, the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Bahwalpur, Punjab.

Vincent Lau, Overseas Sales Director at Aikosolar from Foshan city, Guangdong Province, which exhibits for the first time at the WFES, said "we see the initiative indeed as a catalyst because most countries along the Belt and Road enjoy long sunny periods compared to other countries."

He added that taking the WFES host country UAE for example, the Gulf state enjoys six to eight hours intense sunshine per day on average which provides an immense opportunity for marketing or solar cells here and beyond.

Dubai's Emirates Airlines said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement it has introduced new sustainable blankets made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles and is now available in economy class on all long-haul Emirates flights.