Abstract: They are over 57 Islamic countries spread over four continents with population over than 1.5 billion. Presently, the demand of energy is met by fossil fuels. Combustion of fossil fuels has caused negative impacts to the environment globally. To overcome it, sustainable, clean and safe energy policies that would satisfy the energy demand of the 21st century have to be implemented. Renewable energy resources should therefore be key energy sources for the future in the Islamic countries. This paper is to study the renewable energy and its implementation strategies for some of the selected Islamic countries. The present status on the renewable energy applications will be presented. Several strategies will be discussed including (a) establishment of renewable technology information services, awareness and capacity building programs (b) development of renewable technology market enhancement, infrastructure development and demo projects (c) improvement of policy and financial frameworks supportive for solar technology market sustainability (d) establishment of competitive local solar technology manufacturing industries, enforcement of international standards for solar technology components and enhancement R&D program. Moreover, these strategies should be addressed in an integrated manner.

 

Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Prof. Dr. Kamaruzzaman Bin Sopian obtained his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985, MSc in Energy Resources from the University of Pittsburgh in 1989 and PhD. in Mechanical Engineering from the Dorgan Solar Laboratory, University of Miami in 1997. He is presently the Professor in Renewable Energy at the Department of Mechanical and Material Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Currently, he is the Director of the Solar Energy Research Institute, a center of excellence for the research and development in solar energy technology. He has been involved in the field of solar energy for more than twenty years. His main contributions are in solar radiation modeling, alternative material for solar absorber, solar water heating system with integrated storage system, solar desalination, solar cooling, daylighting using solar light pipes, solar assisted drying systems, grid-connected photovoltaic system, thin film silicon solar cells, combined photovoltaic thermal or hybrid collector and solar hydrogen production system.

He has published over 400 research papers in journals and conferences. He has delivered keynotes speeches at national and international conferences on renewable energy. He is the founding member of the Malaysian Institute of Energy, member of the World Renewable Energy Network based in the United Kingdom and is an associate editor of the Renewable Energy published by Elsevier Ltd. He heads several national subcommittees on renewable energy by the Malaysian government to promote awareness, market enhancement, policy studies and the applications renewable energy.