Emissions reduction and economic implications of renewable energy market penetration of power generation for residential consumption in the MENA region

This paper examines the implications of renewable energy (RE) deployment in power generation for residential consumption in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region under various RE penetration targets. A comparative assessment revealed a great heterogeneity among countries with Turkey dominating as the highest emitter. At the sub-regional level, the Middle East sub-region contributes more than double the GHG emissions estimated for the Gulf and North Africa sub-regions with all sub-regions achieving reductions in the range of 6-38% depending on the RE target penetration and promising up to 54% savings on investment excluding positive externalities associated with the offset of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.