Just as the historical epic movie 'Gone with the Wind' caused a paradigm shift in the way we invested in cinema, the current Russian war on Ukraine is likely to cause a paradigm shift in the way we invest in energy.
In 1939, the movie 'Gone with the Wind' influenced how people, mainly in the United States, viewed the aftermath of the American Civil War and the permanent scars and impact it had on the people’s lives.
It also influenced how stories, such as romance and race, are told on the big screen. Today, we are witnessing first-hand how the whole world is racing to invest in energy security, including investing in renewable energy such as wind, solar geothermal and other types of more sustainable energies.
Energy security can be defined as the sustainable and affordable availability of energy sources.
Not only is the matter of energy security gaining more importance by the day due to steady increase in global consumption, but is also becoming a matter of life and death because of global conflicts and the link between energy consumption and the emissions that contribute to climate change.
In their 2022 report, scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reiterated that unless we are successful in investing in reducing global temperatures by 1.5-2 degrees, current and future generations will suffer dire consequences.
Along with sunlight, waves, geothermal heat, and rain wind power is receiving a much-needed rise in investment recently.
Wind power focuses mostly in using wind turbines to generate electricity. While wind power to generate mechanical power has been around since the days of Babylonian King Hammurabi around the second millennia BC, then developed into using wind power to generate electricity around 1880s.
The major shift now is investing in wind power to generate the sustainable, green energy of the future - green hydrogen.
The Sultanate of Oman is globally strategically positioned to be a hub for investing in wind power to generate green hydrogen.
While many countries in the region are endowed with the necessary resources for attracting investments in renewable energy including, talented energy professionals, the Sultanate of Oman is blessed with higher wind power potential due its location on the Indian Ocean.
Our country as a whole and the Governorates of South Al Sharqiyah, Al Wusta and Dhofar in particular, enjoys cumulative rich trade and energy experience.
Along with precious stability and openness to do business with the world, the Sultanate of Oman could be the emerging hub for the sustainable energy of the future - wind to green hydrogen power.
This is the perfect time for a paradigm shift towards building a better future through investing in people who can design, plan, execute and assess our blended energy security and climate change strategies.
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