55. Potentials and Prospects of Renewables in Libya

As elsewhere, Libya too is affected by human-induced climate change and the volatility of world oil markets. This chapter is designed to present the potential and prospects for replacing nonrenewable fossil fuels (i.e., hydrocarbon) as a backbone of the economy by a range of renewables including wind, solar-PV, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass to deliver energy. The focus is on land opportunities and constraints and on production costs as a function of resource availability and depletion and of innovation dynamics. After outlining a range of renewable production technologies it demonstrates how to try to spread and instill the culture within Libyan society of the idea of renewable energy (RE). It uses best practices and lessons learned to start this culture at an early stage via universities, Libyan academies, high institutes and technical colleges in Libya, and even lower schools. Finally lessons learned are described to highlight a way forward towards a low carbon economy in the country to combat the dangers of global warming through the use of abundantly available renewable potential sources of clean energy.