EQMag MEA Jan 2022 Edition by EQ Int'l Solar Media Group

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AFRICA

SCATEC WINS PREFERRED BIDDER STATUS ON 273 MW OF SOLAR IN SOUTH AFRICA Scatec ASA (OSL:SCATC) announced it has won preferred bidder status on 273 MW of solar projects in the fifth round of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

he Norwegian renewable power producer has been successful with three projects, it said, without naming them. The Oslo-based company will sign 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the output of the plants and will own a 51% stake in each of them. The rest of the ownership will be held by local Black Economic Empowerment partner H1 Holdings and a community trust.In addition to having majority stakes, Scatec will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), operation and maintenance (O&M) and asset management services to these solar parks. It expects financial close to be achieved in the first half of next year and to complete the projects by the end of 2023. All in all, South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy named 25 preferred bidders in this latest tender. Mainstream Renewable Power dominated the round with 12 successful projects of which a share will go to H1 Holdings as well.

Source: renewablesnow

EARTH WIND & POWER SIGNS GAS FLARE AND SOLAR DATA CENTER PARTNERSHIPS IN AFRICA

African governments sign for data centers at oil wells and solar farms

arth Wind & Power (EW&P), the Norwegian company which plans to plant data centers at sites where energy would be wasted, has signed for several potential projects in Africa. EW&P is involved in a feasibility study to put data centers on oil platforms, making use of gas that would otherwise be wasted in flares, but its approach could also help fund new solar plants by using energy generated at times of low demand, according to EW&P CEO Ingvil Smines Tybring-Gjedde, who signed several letters of intent (LoIs) with national governments during African Energy Week in Cape Town, South Africa, this month. “Data centers could pay for energy on sunny days when the town doesn’t need all the electricity the solar farm is making,” said Smines Tybring-Gjedde in an interview with DCD. “With wind production, we can buy energy at night when it is

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windy and people need less energy. We don’t want to cannibalize the energy given to the people around about. We take the excess.” Projects like this can enable bigger solar projects because they provide needed investment in the early stages, she said. African countries like Nigeria are also a major center for oil exploration where gas is routinely flared because it can’t be economically exploited. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has called for an end to gas flaring by 2030. Using this waste energy in data centers could help build digital infrastructure in Africa, where there is a large shortage of data centers for local needs. Earlier this year, a report found that the continent needs 700 data centers totaling 1,000MW to meet local demand and bring the rest of the continent up to par with South Africa’s density. At the conference, Ms. Smines Tybring-Gjedde, a former deputy petroleum minister in the Norwegian government, gave a keynote speech, and said the LoIs signed could help African governments eliminate flare gas, and boost digital capacity: “I would like to thank the organizers for such a wonderful event, at what is still a challenging time,” she said. Source: datacenterdynamics

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AFRICA

LIBYA TO CONSTRUCT SOLAR PLANT WITH TOTAL ENERGIES

Libyan Minister of Oil and Gas speaks on announced plans to construct a solar plant with French multinational Total Energies. ohamed Oun was speaking at the launch of Libya Energy and Economy Summit in Tripoli aimed at discussing energy security issues, as a way of solving existing crises and providing solutions to develop the sector. “We seek to encourage the investment of oil wealth, its good exploitation and development, and the increase of production capacity to increase production and compensate for lost production due to the natural decline. That will be through development drilling and the increasing of oil production to 2.1 million barrels per day.” He said The 2021 Summit, endorsed by the Government of National Unity and backed by the National Oil Corporation and Libya’s Ministry of Oil and Gas, is the country’s first international energy event in nearly a decade, and seeks to advance foreign capital, technology and expertise in the energy sector. On, a delegation representing Total and specializing in the field of solar panels and alternative energy met with the General Authority for Investment Promotion and Privatization Affairs in Tripoli, where the two parties discussed the possibility of cooperation between

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the two sides in the field. According to the Oil and Gas minster, though Lybia has had its own challenges, the country is now safe and fertile for business, inviting foreign investor to come to Lybia for business. “The state of Libya has become safe, and it has become possible to return the companies that were working in it, especially service companies, whether in the oil sector or in the field of infrastructure or in various projects. In fact, we have noticed since the beginning of the work of the National Unity government that many companies have returned and now, they are constructing electricity stations and constructing roads, especially the Second Ring Road and many other roads throughout the Libyan state.” He said. Oun also announced that Libya will be further developing and increasing its oil production. Libya is set to hold presidential elections on Dec. 24, after years of U.N.-led attempts to usher in a more democratic future and bring the country’s war to an end. Following the overthrow and killing of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, oil-rich Libya spent most of the last decade split between rival governments — one based in the capital, Tripoli, and the other in the eastern part of the country. On the country’s interim Prime Minister filed a request to run for president, despite being barred from elections next month under the current rules. Source: africanews

ME&A JANUARY 2022

AFRICA

HOW CAN AFRICA ATTRACT MORE SOLAR INVESTMENTS Africa has 40% of the world’s solar potential but only 1% of the world’s solar panels. Ahead of COP26, the need for governments to help eliminate barriers to investments in solar power warrants discussion.

frica will be high on the agenda when political leaders and climate negotiators meet at COP26 in early November. No doubt, we will hear strong appeals to put more money on the table to finance clean energy in the south, as well as promises from the rich world to do so. This is important, but Africa doesn’t have to wait for more pledges to attract capital for green energy investments. Billions of private and public dollars stand ready to invest in solar and other renewable energy projects in Africa. Governments should focus on lifting barriers holding back such investments, both for largescale power plants and so-called distributed solar plants which is the focus of this article. In a nutshell, these barriers can be summarized as regulation, subsidies and currency.

AFRICA’S OVER-RELIANCE ON COAL

Africa’s businesses suffer from the world’s highest electricity costs, and the continent is the only region where the share of renewables in the energy mix has been at a standstill since the signing of the Paris Agreement six years ago. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of hydropower, solar and wind in the continent’s electricity generation is still below 20%. As a result, Africa has become even more dependent on coal, natural gas and diesel to meet its fast-growing demand for power, fuels that recently have doubled and even tripled in price. To reverse this precarious development, Africa should aim to triple annual investments in low-carbon energy to at least $60 billion per year. A major share of these investments will be required to finance large utility-scale projects. But equally important is investments for much faster deployment of solar and storage in the private sector. Africa’s governments should study the lessons learnt from South Africa and Egypt and make it easier for businesses to invest in solar energy production for their own needs. A case in point is one of Empower New Energy’s investments that has now been in operation for over a year. This 0,7MWp rooftop solar plant in Accra was made possible through a twenty-year Power Sales Agreement with the client, a local manufacturing company in Ghana. The tariff paid represents a saving on the energy bill of 20%, and the 800MWh of clean energy produced equals 400 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided. In addition, new jobs are created during construction, operation and maintenance as well as indirectly through the improved competitiveness of the client.

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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AFRICA REGULATION AS A BARRIER TO SOLAR INVESTMENTS Unfortunately, regulation prohibits energy-users in most African countries – with the exception of Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and a few others – from buying solar energy from private providers as in the case cited above. In Ghana, the possibility is limited to large energy-users, so-called “bulk customers”. For most of African countries, the only solar investment option with private off-takers is to enter into rental or a lease-to-own contract. Contracts where the users pay for the equipment is generally perceived as less attractive to the energy-user than contracts where the client pays for the electricity delivered, which is most commonly used worldwide. A second regulatory barrier that hinders solar investments in Africa is the absence of netmetering. With the notable exception of South Africa, Egypt and a couple of other countries, energy-users in Africa have no possibility to monetise surplus electricity. In most parts of the world, energy-users producing their own electricity have net-metering contracts with the local distribution company. This means that in periods when the captive power plant is generating more electricity than needed, during maintenance or holidays for example, the energy users can “sell” surplus electricity back to the local utility company. The absence of net-metering means that the energy-user needs to pay for all unused solar electricity, making the solar investment less attractive for the energy-user.

SUBSIDIES AS A BARRIER TO SOLAR INVESTMENTS

Subsidized diesel prices and grid tariffs are also a barrier to solar investments, but fortunately less so than before. The cost of diesel in Egypt and Nigeria, for example, is $0,5 – 0,6 per litre, about half the price in the US and China, and less than a third of the price in Europe. Only by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and making sure tariffs cover all costs can governments ensure that solar energy projects will become fully competitive. There are more efficient ways than fuel subsidies to protect the poor and vulnerable parts of the population.

CURRENCY AS A BARRIER TO INVESTMENT IN SOLAR POWER Finally, currency is also a major issue, especially since African countries need to attract billions of dollars in foreign investments. Foreign investors are generally not set to up take currency risk, off-takers neither. Furthermore, in some markets such as Nigeria, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, access to the US dollar is highly restricted, making foreign investments almost prohibitive. A liquid currency market and a stable and transparent foreign exchange policy is vital for countries seeking solar investors. What should be done at COP26, to bring about the urgent need for more solar power to Africa? Supporting governments that seeks to make it attractive for businesses to procure their own solar energy is important. More funding to providers of guarantees and soft loans is also vital. But we should be more ambitious. My wish for the Glasgow-meeting would be a global agreement to replace the expired Climate Development Mechanism with a new, automatic and unbureaucratic carbon credit for all distributed renewable energy in developing countries. A floor price of, say $30 per ton CO2, would unlock thousands of additional solar investments across Africa, replacing millions of litres of fossil fuels while at the same time creating more than a million new jobs in the countries most in need of a post-COVID-19 jab to the economy. Terje Osmundsen is Founder and CEO of renewable impact investment company, Empower New Energy. Source: esi-africa

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

AFRICA

AFSIA RECOGNISES INNOVATION IN SOLAR ENERGY AT 2021 SOLAR AWARDS

Winners in 15 awards categories of the second edition of the AFSIA Solar Awards 2021 were unveiled. mong the 15 categories in the competition this year, the most disputed titles included “C&I Project of the year”, “Solar innovation/technology of the year” and “DFI & Alternative Financing” which is reflective of the increased activity of those segments of the African solar industry. This highlights the very positive trend of the growth of the industry across the continent.

WINNERS OF THE AFSIA SOLAR AWARDS Utility Scale Project of the year: Awarded to InfraCo Africa for the 60MWac Salima Solar project in Malawi Commercial & Industrial Solar Project of the year: Awarded to EM-ONE Energy Solutions for its 1.52MWp / 2.28MWh system at the Federal ministry Mabushi office complex in Abuja, Nigeria Mini Grid Project of the year: Awarded to ENGIE Equatorial for the 600kWp Lolwe Island mini-grid project in Uganda Solar Home System Company of the year: Awarded to Ignite Power for connecting households in Rwanda for under $1 a month Residential Project of the year: Awarded to Jubaili Bros for the 20kW/60kWh solar PV plus storage facility installation in Accra, Ghana African Solar company of the year: Awarded to SolarAfrica for being the first to successfully market solar PPAs to residential and commercial power users in South Africa back in 2011 and having financed 55MW of projects to date African Solar SME/Entrepreneur of the year: Awarded to Kudirat Saliu from the Solar Sister Entrepreneurs Program in Nigeria focusing on distributing solar home systems solutions in off-grid areas Financial Advisor of the year: Awarded to Synergy Consulting Infrastructure and Financial Advisory Services for several projects including the Dondo Solar PV project, the 1st competitively tendered solar IPP in Mozambique and the 100MW solar IPP in Botswana Legal Advisor of the year: Awarded to Wairimu & Co. for advisory on the $4 million investment in a Kenyan mini-grid development DFI/Alternative Financing of the year: Awarded to SunFunder for the $70 million Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund Woman in Solar of the year: Awarded to Jenny Fletcher, CEO and Co-Founder of Ariya Finergy leading an exciting period of growth and having secured $1 million of assets under management and a further $3 million identified in 2022 Solar Innovation for the year: Awarded to Genius Watter for the Genius RO – solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination technology Solar Picture of the year: Awarded to ARESS for a beautiful picture highlighting solar EPC work taken by the installation team Solar video of the year: Awarded to Enara for a film shot in the New Valley governorate to showcase the potential and benefits of solar energy in reclaiming desert land in Egypt. Life-time achievement award: Presented to Franco Traverso, Co-founder and Chairman of Genius Watter and a pioneer of the photovoltaic sector since 1981.

More than 190 entries were submitted across the different categories from all over the continent over the past few months. The jury, composed of some of the leading experts in solar energy in Africa, carefully reviewed and evaluated each entry to identify the most deserving companies and individuals to be awarded the grand prize during the awards ceremony. The AFSIA awards secured a jury composed of Demi Edosomwan from TotalEnergies Ventures, Catherine Mukobo from ACERD, Tony Tiyou from Renewables in Africa, Wale Shonibare from AfDB, Ujunwa Ojemeni from the Ministry of Energy & Natural Resources – Lagos State Government, Salma Okonkwo from UBI Group, Wikus Kruger from the Power Futures Lab at the University of Cape Town and Dr Harald Schützeichel from the Solar Energy Foundation. Source: esi-africa

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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AFRICA

UGANDA SCOOPS ACCOLADE AT AFRICA SOLAR INDUSTRY AWARDS 2021 ENGIE Equatorial was the recipient of the ‘Mini-Grid Solar Project of the Year’ award at the Africa Solar Industry Awards 2021.

eld at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, in London, on November 16th, 2021, the second edition of the annual prestigious awards saw 16 individuals and companies recognized for their tremendous contribution towards providing solar energy access in Africa. ENGIE Equatorial won the hotly contested category of the ‘Mini-Grid Solar Project of the Year’ award for its 600kWp Lolwe Island mini-grid project in Uganda. ENGIE Equatorial’s CEO Riccardo Ridolfi expressed his gratitude to the awards organizers and applauded his team and their partners for achieving this milestone. “Equatorial Power’s integrated model goes beyond electrons to offer value addition services to communities, creating jobs and the basis for sustainable rural development,” he added. Accepting the award on behalf of ENGIE Equatorial, its Chief Operating Officer, Maxime Marion gave a brief update of the progress of the project. “We are very happy the construction went very well and we are still connecting the last few households and promoting productive use of energy for the Lolwe

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island population to amplify the impact of energy in the communities,” he said. Organized by the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) in partnership with the Africa Energy Forum, the AFSIA Africa Solar Industry awards aim to recognize and celebrate companies and individuals that have contributed outstandingly to promoting and advancing the use of solar across Africa in its full diversity. ENGIE Equatorial is a joint venture between Equatorial Power Ltd and ENGIE. Energy Access and is building a 600kWp Solar Plant with a fully integrated and remotely managed system, poised to be among the most advanced mini-grids in the world. The Lolwe mini-grid serves the entire island (approximately 15,000 people) for a total of 3,800 connections, both households and businesses. The latter are supported by ENGIE Equatorial’s Business Incubation and asset financing program. ENGIE Equatorial’s integrated system also features an electric mobility integration, with electric outboard engines for boats and e-motorcycles, as well as an Agroprocessing Hub to deliver water purification, ice making and other agricultural value-addition services like fish drying. Source: chimpreports

ME&A JANUARY 2022

AFRICA

MAINSTREAM RENEWABLE POWER PROJECTS TO DELIVER 1.27 GW OF NEW WIND AND SOLAR FOR SOUTH AFRICA

Mainstream Renewable Power-led consortium has been awarded 50% of the total allocation in the latest round of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) The win makes Mainstream Renewable Power the leading renewable energy company in South Africa, with over 2.1 GW awarded under the REIPPPP to date The twelve projects, across onshore wind and solar, will generate enough clean energy to power a third of the annual electricity demand of the City of Cape Town DUBLIN and CAPE TOWN, South Africa: Global wind and solar company, Mainstream Renewable Power (“Mainstream”), announces that twelve of its projects have won preferred bidder status in Round 5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The wind and solar projects, which have a total capacity of 1.27 GW, represent half of the total allocation in the Round, which was the most competitive to date, being almost 4 times oversubscribed.The win makes Mainstream the most successful company in the history of the South African renewable energy procurement programme, with over 2.1 GW awarded to date. This includes 850 MW of wind and solar generation assets that Mainstream has already delivered into commercial operation across Rounds 1, 3 and 4 of the REIPPPP. Mainstream has achieved a number of firsts in the REIPPP including constructing South Africa’s first self-build substation as well as bringing the first projects to financial close and to complete construction in Rounds 1, 3 and 4. The Mainstream-led consortium, named “Ikamva” which means “the future” in Xhosa, will deliver six onshore wind projects and six solar PV projects, including the first REIPPPP project in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. The consortium brings together a range of expertise, led by Mainstream’s 100% African team of over a hundred professionals, and comprises Globeleq, Africa Rainbow Energy & Power, H1 Holdings and local community trusts. As a result of this award Mainstream will double the size of its South African team and will be actively recruiting another 100 South Africans to support the engineering and construction of the 12 projects. This will make Mainstream the largest pure-play renewables employer in Africa. The projects will produce approximately

Mr. Hein Reyneke, Mainstream’s General Manager

4,500 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of green electricity each year, helping to avoid nearly 5 million tonnes of CO2 per annum, once fully operational. They will provide South Africa with critical, low-cost, indigenous power and help deliver a just transition towards its clean energy and climate goals. The win underpins Mainstream’s strategy of building true scale across its global platforms, with the company’s global portfolio now at 16.2 GW. It is the latest demonstration of Mainstream’s accelerated growth trajectory following the 75% acquisition by Aker Horizons earlier in 2021, as well as the announcement of the new 1 GW Nazca Renovables platform in Chile in July. Hein Reyneke, Mainstream’s General Manager for Africa said: “ We are delighted to be chosen to contribute further to the decarbonisation of South Africa. It is a demonstration of faith in Mainstream’s track record of efficient and reliable delivery not only here in South Africa but also internationally, where we are currently building ten wind and solar PV projects simultaneously, totalling 1.35 GW in Chile. Our latest win will deliver enormous social, economic and environmental benefits for South Africa.” Source: finance.yahoo

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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AFRICA GHANA ADVANCES CLEAN ENERGY WITH EIGHT NEW SOLAR PLANTS A Ghanaian state entity, Bui Power Authority (BPA), has announced plans to construct eight solar plants in the northern part of the country.

ccording to BPA, the earmarked sites for the project expected to begin in the first quarter of next year include, Yendi, Northern, Buipe and Sawla, Savannah, Zebilla, and Bolgatanga, Upper East and Tumu, Upper West. These spots are close to substations of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) in the northern part of the country, where the potential solar plants capacity is between 10MWp to 100MWp. This could successfully be tied into the National Interconnected Transmission System (NITS). The BPA Chief Executive Officer, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, disclosed the figures when he outlined efforts to increase the country’s renewable power generation in an exclusive interview with the Ghanaian Times on the sidelines of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Party (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland. “We’ve gone far with plans and it is even possible that by next year January-February, we should be having some people who will be coming in to start the plants. We are poised for this,” he said. The capacity of each plant, according to Dzamesi, was dependent on the size and specifications of investors who have been engaged under an arrangement in which they would fund the construction and be paid later for the state to own the plants. He said "BPA had struck a collaboration with universities, including the University of Renewable Energy in Sunyani in the Bono Region, so that new graduates would be involved in various projects." “Technology is changing. The first panel for solar was very big; it is smaller and every day gets smaller. It means people are doing research to ensure that we get smaller panels with the same capacity. We have to be training young ones to build capacity in that area,” Dzamesi said. He also reaffirmed BPA’s commitment to supporting the development of renewable energy in the West African country. He pointed to Ghana’s dedication to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change with the signing

Mr. Samuel Kofi Dzamesi The BPA Chief Executive Officer

of the BPA Amendment Act 2020 (Act 1046) into law which positions the BPA to contribute significantly to increasing renewable energy in Ghana. The law empowers Bui Power Authority to develop renewable energy and other clean energy alternatives in the country. Currently, BPA’s renewable energy projects include a 404MW Hydroelectric Power Plant, a 250MWp landbased solar, 1MWp of 5MWp Floating solar, 45kW Tsatsadu Micro Hydro plant. BPA’s future prospects also include developing the western rivers of Ghana and increasing their floating solar generation capacity.“If we want to do real energy, every location in Ghana where there is GRIDCo substation, there is the possibility of putting a solar plant. This is our target. Also, for all rivers in the country where we can generate power, we should be able to target them.BPA should be running not less than 700MWp of solar by 2024,” Dzamesi said. Source: powerengineeringint

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

AFRICA

SHARP SALES GROWTH PREDICTED FOR AFRICA’S OFF-GRID SOLAR ENERGY

frica’s off-grid solar energy providers have been going through tough times during the Covid pandemic, but businesses are optimistic the sector can bounce back rapidly. The growth of the off-grid energy sector over the last decade has been one of Africa’s social and economic success stories, transforming lives overnight by bringing power to lowincome households and small businesses, often in remote areas with little prospect of a link to the national grid. Inevitably, that expansion has been curtailed by the economic impact of the Covid pandemic on the spending power of poor Africans, whose finances have become more precarious. Some have struggled to keep up payments on pay-as-you-go solar systems, while others are deferring plans to splash out on solar lighting and television packages until their earnings prospects become more secure. At the same time, off-grid solar providers have found it harder to borrow the funds needed to stay afloat in difficult times, contending with customer growth rates well below those envisaged in their business plans prior to the pandemic, and low equipment stock levels due to fractured global supply chains. In its Market Trends Report 2020, the World Bank’s Lighting Global Programme reported that the global offgrid sector had developed into a $1.75bn annual market, serving 420m users, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. In the 2017-19 period, off-grid solar firms’ revenues grew at 30% a year, while sales volumes grew at 10% a year, Lighting Global estimated. By 2021, the picture was very different. GOGLA, an off-grid industry trade body, said in its latest Global Off-Grid Solar Market Report that two thirds of off-grid solar lighting companies surveyed around the world reported lower sales volumes in the second half of 2020 compared to the second half of 2019, and that a third had reported sales cuts of more than 50%. Poised for recovery However, companies with a track record in the African off-grid market say that, while business is challenging now, there are signs of resilience and recovery. Simon BransfieldGarth, chief executive of African household solar provider Azuri Technologies, said recently that, while the company’s business volume growth had slowed considerably from pre-pandemic levels of some 40-50% a year, its sales volume was still showing modest growth, and was likely to accelerate quickly if customer and investor confidence returned. This view is backed up by GOGLA data showing some recovery in SSA markets in the second half of 2021 compared with earlier in the year. In East Africa, sales of 2.2m off-grid solar lighting products by surveyed members in the second half of 2020 were 10% lower than in the second half of 2019, but 41% higher than in the first half of 2020. In West Africa, sales of off-grid solar products in the second half of 2020 totalled 434,000 – a 19% increase over the same period in 2019 and a 23% rise compared to the first half of 2020. If African economies do recover quickly, those working in the off-grid sector say a resumption of sharp sales growth is possible given the level of latent demand. Globally, around 770m people still had no access to electricity in 2019, with around three-quarters of this total in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the International Energy Agency. That the global figure was 90m lower than in 2018 underlines the upward trajectory of demand for off-grid power products before the pandemic. In terms of corporate robustness, the off-grid sector is

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considerably stronger than it was a decade ago. Companies such as Azuri and Bboxx have developed from startups providing simple solar lighting and charging solutions to commercially successful household names in several countries, supplying homes and businesses with a plethora of services, and able to raise millions of dollars on international markets. They rub shoulders with deep-pocketed energy firms that have diversified into mini-grid and household solar provision, including EDF, TotalEnergies and Shell. The sector has been driven by falling equipment costs and rising efficiency. A decade ago, Azuri was offering household lighting packages for around $0.50/day. In Kenya, the company has a TV package for around $1/day, which includes a solar panel, battery, power-efficient television, satellite dish, a satellite service, two high-power tube lights, two spotlights, a rechargeable radio, rechargeable torch and USB smartphone charging. After around two years, the customer owns the equipment and would then only need to pay for the satellite service. Storage and efficiency improvements mean that a television supplied by the firm could now run more or less continuously compared to just a few hours a night for its earliest models. Investment still flowing Activity may be down but the off-grid market is still generating eye-catching investments. Engie Energy Access (EEA) said in October that during 2021 it had acquired some 200,000 new customers in the nine sub-Saharan African countries in which it operates, despite the impact of the pandemic. The company, whose customer base now stands at more than 1.3m, caters to a wide range of markets from household solar to large businesses. EEA reported continued growth in its mini-grids business, which has equipped 13 villages to date and has secured more than 180 additional project orders in the last year. Meanwhile, another French-based company, NEoT Offgrid Africa (NOA), and Winch Energy said in October that they have invested around $12m in new minigrid projects in Uganda and Sierra Leone. When these become operational in 2022, nearly 60,000 people in 49 villages in Sierra Leone and Uganda will be equipped with off-grid and remotely controllable solar solutions provided by the firms over recent years. Revenues remain uncertain However, few think the off-grid sector is out of the woods yet. Revenue streams for off-grid providers remain uncertain, with providers having to be accommodating with repayment schedules for struggling customers, while the companies still have the same financial outgoings as they did before the pandemic. Meanwhile, raising money on commercial markets is tough for solar companies. Companies are reluctant to downsize as it would hamper their ability to cater to new customers if the market takes off again. Downscaling would also jeopardise jobs in the communities the companies serve, including local agents and other personnel that market products and provide customer service. It would also risk reversing gains made by women in rural communities. Around a third of Azuri’s rural workforce are women. The relatively low cost and reliability of off-grid solar power compared to building out the grid in some areas of Africa also means that off-grid electricity is no longer regarded as a temporary fix while communities wait for the grid to arrive. It’s part of the long-term solution to energy access. If the off-grid sector fails, some national electrification plans risk being derailed. These fears have led to the launch of substantial financial support packages. “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is jeopardising the immense progress that has been achieved over the last decade

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AFRICA in electrification through off-grid technologies across Africa,” Joao Duarte Cunha, division manager for renewable energy at the African Development Bank (AfDB), said on announcing the financial close of agreements for $20m of concessional loans to the sector in August. The funding from the AfDB-managed Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) is part of what is envisaged as a five-year, $50m blended finance initiative to provide relief and recovery capital to energy access businesses, known as the Covid-19 Off-Grid Recovery Platform.Blended finance initiative Another major initiative to support the industry in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, the $80m Energy Access Relief Fund (EARF) supported by DFIs and other institutions, reached its first close for $68m of the total in September. The remainder is expected to be signed off in coming weeks. Social Investment Managers and Advisors (SIMA), the fund’s manager, is charged with providing relief capital via short-term loans to around 90 energy access companies of widely varying sizes in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Loans of some $50,000-$60,000 will be made to smaller firms with revenues of around $150,000-$200,000, while a maximum of four loans of up to $2.5m will go to companies with revenues of up to around $25m. SIMA says its analysis of energy access companies eligible for relief funding shows that 77% of potential borrowers require emergency financial assistance to stay afloat. Three-quarters of the loans are expected to be disbursed in Africa. More government support needed While support packages may help the off-grid sector through a difficult period, more will be needed in the longer term if the industry is to make significant progress in reaching those without power. So far, companies have been able to pick relatively low-hanging fruit in the form of customers with low-to-medium incomes and financial stability. Reaching the very poorest Africans and maximising the benefits of off-grid supply to rural areas will be a much stiffer challenge requiring wider government support. A September UCL report, Off-Grid Energy and Economic Prosperity, calls for greater government intervention to ensure that severe inequality in energy access in SSA is not exacerbated

Mr. Joao Duarte Cunha Division Manager For Renewable Energy At The African Development Bank

by the pandemic. “While the pandemic has challenged the economies in SSA, it also provides an opportunity to address structural issues in energy development for a more decentralised energy system,” the authors said. “To reach universal energy access, governments and partners must promote both supply and demand side subsidies. The former are essential to support off-grid companies scale up operations and serve more difficult market segments, including in more remote areas. The latter can help to close the affordability gap for the poorest customers.” Use of solar power beyond commercially attractive areas, such as household lighting and television, needs to be encouraged in order to accelerate local development and lay the basis for rural job creation. Deploying off-grid power for commercial, agricultural or industrial uses to create and improve local value chains, diversify livelihoods and reduce vulnerability to external shocks would have an even more profound social and economic impact. Source: african.business

SOUTH AFRICA: MAHLAKO SUPPLIES 10 MWP OF SOLAR POWER TO AMAZON VIA WHEELING In South Africa, Mahlako Energy Fund’s solar photovoltaic power plant is entering commercial operation in the Northern Cape Province. The project is intended to supply solar photovoltaic energy to Amazon Web Services (AWS) via wheeling.

ahlako Financial Services (MFS) has been successful. The 100% black-owned energy investment and advisory firm is successfully commissioning a solar PV plant in Khathu, in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. The company implemented its project through its Mahlako Energy Fund, which entered into a “wheeling” transaction with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the subsidiary of U.S. e-commerce group Amazon, which specializes in on-demand cloud computing services for businesses and individuals. Wheeling allows electricity to be generated remotely in one location and billed to an energy user in another area. The Khathu solar plant has a capacity of 10 MWp. This power feeds AWS’ facilities through the state-owned Eskom grid. “With the South African government’s recent announcement at COP26 to accelerate investment in renewable energy and other sectors, we are committed to contributing to South Africa’s goals of just transitioning to cleaner forms of energy,” says Meta Mhlarhi, director of Mahlako Energy Fund and managing director of MFS.According to the Sandtonbased company, the project implemented in partnership with

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Ms. Meta Mhlarhi Director Of Mahlako Energy Fund And Managing Director Of Mfs

the Sola Group has contributed to the economic development of the Northern Cape Province during the construction phase and, throughout its lifetime, will support permanent jobs in the areas of electrical maintenance, operations and safety. Source: afrik21

ME&A JANUARY 2022

MOROCCO

BELGIAN DELEGATION EXPLORES OPPORTUNITIES IN MOROCCO’S RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR

In recent months, many countries and observers have highlighted Morocco’s world-class efforts in the field of sustainable and efficient energy. he National Electricity Regulatory Authority (ANRE) received in Rabat on a Belgian delegation aiming to explore Morocco’s renewable industry. Bart Steukers, CEO of the Belgian Association Agoria, is leading the delegation that consists of representatives of companies affiliated to the organization. The delegation said that its visit to Morocco is due to the “significant potential of the Moroccan economy, which opens up a promising prospect for strengthening economic relations” between Morocco and Belgium, ANRE said in a statement. During meeting, President of ANRE Abdellatif Bardach presented the institution and its mission to the Belgian delegation. He also emphasized the “crucial rove devolved to the national and international” private sector in developing the free market for the production and marketing of green electric energy, including for foreign destinations. The ANRE official also informed the Belgian delegation of his organization’s work in close consultation with public and private operators to put in place the tools that will allow an effective regulation of the electricity sector in Morocco “as soon as possible.” Morocco seeks to make renewable energy one of the key pillars of its economy. With its renewable projects, Morocco seeks to produce more than 52% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2030. A recent study from Morocco’s Economic, Social, and Environmental Council (CESE) said that the North African country has the potential to produce 96% of its electricity using renewable energy by 2050. Following ’s meeting, both ANRE and the Belgian delegation stressed the

importance of Morocco-Belgium cooperation in the energy field. Earlier this year, Morocco’s former Minister of Energy Aziz Rabbah said the country invested a total of MAD 52.1 billion ($5.8 billion) in the energy industry in the last decade. Many countries and observers have in recent months highlighted Morocco’s efforts in the field of sustainable and efficient energy. Earlier this year, “We have a great deal of expertise to share in terms of renewable energies. Here in Morocco, the solar sector is extraordinary and we in the UK are world leaders in wind energy.”

Mr. Simon Martin, UK Ambassador to Morocco

Source: moroccoworldnews

MOROCCAN STUDENTS TO INTRODUCE SOLAR CAR ‘ELEADORA II’ IN GLOBAL RACES

Mines Rabat Solar Team aims to promote sustainable energies and entrepreneurship skills among young Moroccans. even years ago, an innovative idea of making a solar-powered car was shared among students of the National School of Mineral Industry (ENSMR). After many years of research, application and testing, Mines Rabat Solar Team from ENSMR, brought the eco-friendly car “Eleadora II” into the spotlight. Mines Rabat Solar Team consists of 16 Moroccan engineering students who share a passion for research and innovations that focus on creating solar-powered vehicles to compete at national and international competitions. The early stages to build “Eleadora II” or “Gift of the Sun” in Greek, began with a study and design phase before starting the construction process, which was taken over by new students over time for better results. Iman Aoua, the head of communication of the team told Middle-East news outlet Sky News Arabia that, “The innovation of this car was not easy, it took a lot of time and effort, and continuous work to develop the vehicle and to meet all the technical standards that allow it to participate in international competitions.” Morocco World News (MWN) also spoke to Aoua in July, where she explained, “We used inventive around the world such as the Solar Challenge Morocco, Rive Maroc and Sasol Solar Challenge,” said Iman technologies; the complete shell is made of carbon fiber. Other notable features are its outstanding engine, considerable autonomy, aerodynamic

properties, and its durable electric mech anism.” The vehicle has a speed of 120 kilometers per hour and uses an eco-friendly carbon fiber in its manufacture. The team have covered the car with single-crystal solar panels, while improving batteries, energy and the telemetry system. One of the challenges the team faces, according to Aoua, is to increase the car’s speed and create a balance between solar and electric charging to travel long distances non-stop during international competitions. After two previous experiments, innovative students have succeeded in introducing Eleadora II, and the young team is currently preparing to participate in international sports events for this type of cars. Aoua, who has been a member of the team since December 2020, pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic and the online learning system adopted by many universities during the start of the pandemic, had a negative impact on the team’s performance, particularly when it came to tasks that required in-person attendance to the workshops. The Eleadora II vehicle is the only Moroccan project to have been officially recognized by Bridgeston, the world’s toughest and most prestigious solar car event. The team has reached several milestones throughout their journey. They were previously ranked 2nd in the 2016 and 2019 competitions of the Moroccan Solar Challenge. “We are hoping for the standout Eleadora II to cross the finish line of various competitions Source: moroccoworldnews

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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MOROCCO

MOROCCO’S ELECTRICITY FOR GREAT BRITAIN The two countries are connected to each other by submarine cables using high-voltage direct current transmission. In the future, the British will meet eight percent of their electricity needs.

olar radiation in Morocco is even more intense than in the south of Spain. In the future, solar power is to reach Great Britain from there via an undersea cable. In a few years, the UK will get around 8% of its electricity from Morocco. An area of 1,500 km, in the province of Guelmim Oued Noun, in the south of a North African country2 Photovoltaic systems and wind generators have been installed with a peak output of 10.5 GW. The solar system alone is 200 km. take the area of2, Due to the high levels of solar radiation there, the yield of solar energy per unit area is almost twice that of Central Europe and still 20% higher than the sunny regions of Spain.

BATTERY STORES 20 GIGAWATT HOURS A portion of the electricity is stored in a massive battery system. It can absorb 20 GWh and is used to address power outages caused by silence, which are rare on the west coast of North Africa, and darkness. The plan is to provide 3.5 GW of power for more than 20 hours per day. In the low consumption hours of the night, except in exceptional cases, electricity should not be supplied from Morocco. Germany has enough space for wind and solar power plants

NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SAVES LESS The output is slightly higher than that of two new nuclear power plant blocks being built at Hinkley Point, UK. They come out to a total of 3.26 GW. According to current estimates, commissioning is to begin in 2026. The construction cost of €26 billion is in line with the Morocco-UK Power Project, as the ambitious project is called.

THE SUBMARINE CABLE IS 3,800 KM LONG Green electricity from Morocco is carried through an underwater cable to Great Britain. For this purpose, the generated electricity is first converted into direct current with high voltage. 600,000 to 1,000,000 V are conceivable – final decision still pending. Over a distance of more than 750 km, the loss in highvoltage direct current transmission is less than in the transmis

sion of three-phase current. With a length of 3,800 km, the cable between Morocco and Great Britain meets this requirement so far. At its destination in the county of Devon in southwest England, the electricity is converted back so that it can be fed into a high voltage grid.

MORE THAN 50% GREEN ELECTRICITY As of 2019, the UK has generated over 50% carbon-free electricity. However, the country is grappling with two problems. The time when the country’s solar power plants produce electricity is getting smaller and smaller as winter approaches. And there is silence, which hits the British very hard. After all, wind power is the most important feeder to the grid after nuclear power. As in Germany, the storage facilities in which the excess power can be buffered are nowhere near enough. In contrast, the Moroccan sun shines more than ten hours a day, even in winter. Neighbors benefit from German green electricity

WORLD’S LARGEST SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANT Morocco has developed over the past ten years into a major international user of renewable energy. The country was a leader in large innovative projects such as the Nur Ouarzazet complex, which is home to the world’s largest solar thermal power plant with a current output of 510 MW. It was partly financed by Germany through the KfW Banking Group in Frankfurt. In addition, the country has put in place a sound legal framework to encourage investment in renewable energy.

GREAT BRITAIN’S POWER APPROACHES THE MAINLAND The UK is already connected to Norway by a 1.4 GW submarine cable which is 100% hydroelectric. An equally powerful cable would in the future connect the Isle of Gren substations in the south-east of Great Britain and Federwarden in Wilhelmshaven, which could supply additional wind power to Great Britain. Britain can also exchange electricity with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In the coming week you will read how the densely populated city-state of Singapore will meet 20 percent of its electricity needs with wind and solar power. Source: insidewalessport

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

OMAN

CME SOLAR INVESTMENTS PARTNERS WITH RESPONSABILITY TO RAMP UP EXPANSION

CME Solar Investments (CMES), one of the country’s leading renewable energy developers, and responsAbility Investments AG (responsAbility) on signed an agreement to received debt financing from the leading impact investment fund – responsAbility.

ccordingly, the financing package would support CMES to promote green power for the C&I segment in Việt Nam as the company plans to expand a significant number of projects which will allow its clients to directly consume green energy through the business model “Zero Cost Investment”. Founded in 2018, CME group has served over 100 clients across 20 industries. In three years since its establishment, over 200 million MWp have been installed and over 2GWh electricity generated each year. CMES is backed by Việt Nam

Oman Investment Fund, a sovereign fund established by Oman Investment Authority and State Capital Investment Corporation of Việt Nam. The company follows the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that its development balances social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The company provides “end-to-end solutions” with strong capabilities across the value chain design – engineering – procurement – O&M leads to control the quality, timelines, and costs. In addition, thanks the advantage of owning warehouses with ready inventories, CMES avoids the lead time of delivery so all the projects have been completed on time.

CMES is fully responsible for 100 per cent of investment, installation, operation, and maintenance of the solar system. Clients use green energy with special prices lower than EVN’s. With those great solutions, CMES has been selected as the developer of many large projects such as Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, Adidas R&D Centre and Hwaseung Vina. CMES is also leveraging the advantages of its financing partners to accelerate its expansion plan with Việt Nam Oman Investment Fund and responsAbility. After each installed project, CMES will host charity events in the local area together with clients, including building new schools, providing equipment and masks. “Our goal is to create tangible and measurable impacts in our community. Sustainable growth, decarbonisation, and energy

security are key themes for both developed and emerging markets globally. We are on the right path to join other global developers to create a better world,” said Chung Diệu Tuấn, the company’s CEO. As a leading sustainable asset manager headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, responsAbility manages US$3.5 billion of assets invested in over 250 fully ESG-managed companies across 68 emerging economies. Since the company’s inception in 2003, responsAbility-managed funds have disbursed more than $10 billion in private debt and private equity to companies in the financial inclusion, sustainable food, and climate finance sectors whose business models directly support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Source: vietnamnews

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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OMAN

NATIONAL FINANCE PARTNERS WITH NAFATH RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR FINANCING SOLAR PANELS As part of its efforts to preserve the environment and encourage the use of renewable energy, National Finance, the Sultanate’s largest finance company, partnered with Nafath Renewable Energy – an Omani company specializing in renewable energy – to provide home solar power solutions.

The agreement was signed by Tariq Al Farsi, Chief Executive Officer of National Finance, and Eng. Abdullah Al Saidi, Chief Executive Officer of Nafath Renewable Energy. Under the agreement, Nafath Renewable Energy will provide solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for clients who are willing to install the system in their houses as part of National Finance’s recently launched Green Finance product. This product comes in line with National Finance’s ‘Imtidad’, an independent wing for the company’s sustainable initiatives, through which the company aspires to add long-lasting value to people and the environment. “We are delighted to join hands with Nafath. It is an innovative Omani company in the renewable energy industry. The collaboration with them reflects our commitment toward supporting the national objectives of preserving the environment and diversifying energy sources. Furthermore, we aim to contribute to the In-country value by supporting national SMEs,” Tariq Al Farsi commented. Speaking on this agreement, Eng. Abdullah Al Saidi said, “The collaboration is aimed at encouraging consumers to consider solar energy to reduce their electricity consumption at home. We are proud of this strategic partnership with National Finance’s green solutions which endeavour to strengthen the Sultanate’s position as one of the leading countries in the solar power industry. We believe that together we can influence a positive change towards achieving Oman’s vision 2040.”

Source: timesofoman

OMAN STATE ENERGY FIRM SIGNS HYDROGEN AGREEMENT WITH KOGAS Oman state energy company OQ has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korean Gas Technology Corporation (Kogas-Tech) to explore opportunities in green hydrogen in Oman.

man state energy 25 novOQ has signed a number of agreements with international companies on developing major green hydrogen projects in Oman.The agreement was signed on 22 November by OQ’s CEO Talal Hamid al-Oufi and Yong Don, CEO of Kogas-Tech.“In the Sultanate of Oman, we are blessed with an abundance of wind and solar energy. In line with global trends, Oman is witnessing a major shift towards production of green hydrogen and ammonia, and OQ is proud to be leading the efforts to harness green energy in Oman. This MoU with Kogas-Tech is a step towards expanding the knowledge, technological and research pool on green hydrogen and we are confident that this cooperation will lead to innovative solutions in this field,” said Al-Oufi following the MoU signing. OQ has signed a number of agreements with international companies on developing major green hydrogen projects in Oman. In October, OQ signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Japan’s Marubeni, Germany’s Linde and the UAE’s Dutco Group to conduct technical and commercial

feasibility studies on developing green hydrogen and green ammonia production facility in the Salalah free zone in Oman. The proposed ‘SalalaH2’ project would produce up to 1,000 tonnes a day of green ammonia, utilising OQ’s existing ammonia plant in Salalah. The group will develop an electrolysis facility with a capacity of up to 400MW to produce green hydrogen for ammonia production. OQ, in partnership with Belgium’s DEME, is already working on plans for a green hydrogen and ammonia project at the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEC). In the first stage of development, the Hyport project will develop an electrolyser capacity of between 250MW to 500MW, which will be powered by up to 1.3GW of solar and wind renewable energy. The consortium began undertaking a solar and wind monitoring study for the project in 2019, and has identified an area in the central Al-Wusta governorate that has significant solar radiation during the day and strong wind at night to enable the development of both solar and wind capacity for the green hydrogen scheme. The project will connect to Port of Duqm’s brand new export terminal, storage infrastructure and liquid jetties that will use the port as its gateway to export green hydrogen and ammonia worldwide. Source: technicalreviewmiddleeast

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

UAE

DUBAI INVITES BIDS FOR GREEN HYDROGEN STRATEGY State-owned utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, or DEWA, has invited consulting companies to make proposals for the development of a strategy for the production of green hydrogen as the emirate is seeking to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

reen hydrogen will be central to the development of the green mobility sector and will play a key role in cutting carbon emissions from various industries and generating electrical and thermal energy on Dubai’s path to reaching 100% clean energy production capacity by 2050, DEWA said on. In May, DEWA, Expo 2020 Dubai and Germany’s Siemens Energy AG (ETR:ENR) inaugurated a pilot plant for the production of hydrogen from solar power, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa.

ME&A JANUARY 2022

Located at the DEWA Research and Development Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park in Dubai, the hydrogen facility uses solar power during the day to produce hydrogen which is converted into electricity at night. In addition to the pilot plant, DEWA and Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) are studying building a hydrogen fuelling station as part of the Dubai Green Mobility Strategy 2030. Source: renewablesnow

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UAE

"CONFIDENCE IN THE ABILITY TO FINANCE TRINA SOLAR FOR THE SIXTH YEAR IN A ROW" Trina Solar, a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic solutions, has announced that it has received the votes of all respondents to the Bloomberg NEF Bankability Report 2021 for PV Module and Inverter Manufacturers. The report ranked Trina Solar as the only company in the field of solar module manufacturing…

rina Solar, a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic solutions, has announced that it has received the votes of all respondents to the Bloomberg NEF Bankability Report 2021 for PV Module and Inverter Manufacturers. The report ranked Trina Solar as the only solar module manufacturer eligible for full bank financing for six consecutive years after receiving the votes of all industry stakeholders from respondents to Bloomberg NEF’s annual survey. The report notes that the company’s financial soundness and portfolio of units operating in the sector, along with the guarantees it provides to customers as a manufacturer, are important factors that financial institutions consider when assessing the vulnerability of PV unit manufacturers to obtaining bank financing. The assessment process is also based on these institutions’ communication with banks, building services professionals, engineering and procurement, independent energy providers and international technical advisors, in addition to conducting accurate interviews with quality inspectors and technical experts in the sector; This makes survey coverage broad, transparent and monitorable. The report, which is issued at the end of the process, is of exceptional value in the area of trade credit for many financial institutions, given Bloomberg NEF’s position as one of the most credible third-party think tanks in the new global energy sector. The report also cited the results of the annual PV module reliability measurement report issued by BV Evolution Labs, the internationally accredited certification body; Which indicated that Trina Solar has once again been ranked the company with the best performance thanks to the outstanding level of its photo voltaic

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units in terms of performance and reliability. Commenting on this topic, Antonio Jimenez, Managing Director and Vice President of Trina Solar Middle East and Africa, said: “The Middle East and Africa region is witnessing a remarkable growth in the development of solar energy projects thanks to the increasing reliance on renewable energy sources. solar energy is one of the most competitive forms of energy generation in the region, allowing countries to continue their efforts to achieve their renewable energy goals. Large projects require a reliable partner; The finance ability of solar projects also reflects the changing performance of photovoltaic systems over time, taking financial risks into account. The selection of the survey stakeholders for a highly bankable manufacturer such as Trina Solar enhances the reliability of PV systems in the region, and thus reduces the investment risk of solar systems in the long term. As one of the leading manufacturers in the sector, Trina Solar has proven to be one of the preferred smart energy and photovoltaic solutions providers among customers.” Between 2020 and 2021, Trina Solar launched a 210mm Vertex with 410, 510, 555, 605 and 670 watts of power, breaking new ground in the region for systems with more than 600 watts of power. The Vertex series has been well received by customers around the world, providing a new opportunity to reduce electricity production costs and ensure that power plants receive stable long-term returns. Trina Solar, as the world’s leading smart energy and photovoltaic solutions provider, aims to accelerate the implementation of smart energy solutions in the world to create a global carbon-neutral energy sector through its commitment to provide its product features to all its global partners. Source: thetimeshub

ME&A JANUARY 2022

UAE

ABDULLAH BIN ZAYED LEADS UAE DELEGATION AT COP 26 GLASGOW

heikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Na- “We look forward to working with the international comhyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Af- munity to build the path to a lower carbon economy to fairs and International Cooperation, safeguard the environment and reduce emissions, as well as create lasting economic opportunity. We remain will lead the UAE’s delegation at a committed partner in the world’s efforts to mitigate clithe pivotal global climate talks in mate change and find inclusive practical climate solutions will deliver sustainable economic growth. Should we Glasgow, ensuring the nation plays that be confirmed as hosts, our goal will be to make COP 28 a key role in discussions with world as inclusive and action-oriented as possible, a COP that leaders and national negotiators brings together developed and developing countries and unites all sectors – public, private, academic and civil soon measures to address climate ciety – around a focus on tangible solutions.At a time of change. The meeting — COP26 (the 26th Conference rapidly rising climate risk that threatens all countries, we this important responsibility with humility and of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention approach also with determination to support the international comon Climate Change (UNFCCC)) — represents the latest munity in our pursuit of a practical agenda that is focused implementation, has ambition, highlights opportunity opportunity for the 197 parties that signed the UNFCCC on and drives change.As we celebrate our Golden Jubilee treaty to discuss and formalise plans to cut global emis- year, we aim to build strong partnerships that are central sions to “net zero” by 2050. The 197 signatory countries’ to economic progress, environmental action and solving global challenges,” representatives will convene in Glasgow, the United Kingdom (UK), on October 31 to take coordinated action on climate change. Hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy, the summit runs for two weeks until November 12. The UAE’s participation at the event is further highlighted by its offer to host COP 28 in 2023. The meeting — COP26 (the 26th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)) — represents the latest opportunity for the 197 parties that signed the UNFCCC treaty to discuss and formalise plans to cut global emissions to “net zero” by 2050. The 197 signatory countries’ representatives will convene in Glasgow, the United Kingdom (UK), on October 31 to take coordinated action on climate change. Hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy, the summit runs for two weeks until November 12. The Mr.Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed ,Minister of Foreign Affairs and InternaUAE’s participation at the event is further highlighted by tional Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates its offer to host COP 28 in 2023.

UNWAVERING FOCUS ON POSITIVE CLIMATE ACTION

Dr. Sultan AI Jaber

UAE Minister of Industry & Advanced Technology & UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change Ms. Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment

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The UAE is leveraging the path to a lower carbon economy to safeguard the environment, drive down emissions and create lasting economic opportunity. An unwavering commitment to reducing emissions — bolstered by the recent launch of the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative — has led to a number of global and regional firsts for the nation. As part of its net-zero strategy, the UAE plans to invest Dh600 billion in clean and renewable energy sources by 2050. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, said: “Over the last 15 years, the UAE has invested heavily in clean technologies that help us both mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change while diversifying our economy, developing new industries and generating positive economic impacts for our people. We are focused on accelerating commercially viable clean technologies and cuttingedge solutions to enhance resource management and food and water security. This closely aligns with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, which defines the next phase of our national development, creating new knowledge, new skills and new jobs.” Highlighting the nation’s offer to host COP 28, he added: “We would leverage our experience as a global convenor focused on

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UAE A THREE-PRONGED STRATEGY FOR ENERGY TRANSITION Ms. Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment

global challenges to bring together all stakeholders in order to accelerate climate solutions that make good sense for our environment and also simply make good business sense.” Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “The UAE has always addressed global challenges as a constructive global citizen, and we believe partnerships are the key to progress. This bold approach has underpinned our commitment as a first mover in climate action in the region. In fact, we are now building on our strong track record of climate innovation to drive sustainable economic growth.”

A CONSTRUCTIVE GLOBAL CITIZEN The UAE was the first country in the GCC region to sign and ratify the Paris Agreement. This 2015 agreement commits signatories to work together to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2030. Furthermore, the UAE was the first country in Mena to commit to an economywide reduction in emissions. As a result of this forward thinking, the nation is now home to three of the largest and lowest-cost solar plants in the world – including Noor Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest stand-alone operational solar power plant, located in Sweihan, Abu Dhabi, featuring 3.2 million solar panels and producing 1.2 gigawatts of electricity. This results in a carbon footprint reduction of 1 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of taking 200,000 gasoline-powered cars off the roads.

PATH-BREAKING INITIATIVES The UAE is the first country in the region to deploy industrialscale carbon capture technology. In 2016, Adnoc and the UAE renewable energy company Masdar teamed up to launch Al Reyadah, a commercial-scale carbon capture facility that captures 0.8 million tonnes of CO2 from Emirates Steel plant annually. The UAE also stands as the first Arab nation to deploy zero emission nuclear energy. When the four nuclear power reactors are completed, it is expected that Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant will meet 25 per cent of the country’s electricity needs with zero carbon emissions. There is a rise in Controlled Environment Agriculture in the UAE, such as automated vertical farms, which enhances food security and contributes to sustainable food systems.

The UAE’s future energy needs will be met by a three-pronged approach: gas, solar and nuclear power.“Our nation is also a pioneer in new zero carbon energies such as hydrogen,” added Almheiri, noting that the nation has the foundations and competitive advantages in place to become one of the largest and lowest-cost global producers of low-carbon hydrogen. While cutting emissions is crucial, and very much on the table for discussion at COP26, the UAE takes a holistic approach to climate action. The Minister added: “Recognising that food systems account for more than a third of all global greenhouse gas emissions, we have partnered with the US to introduce the Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, a global initiative aimed at accelerating investments in R&D for climate-smart agri-tech.” Set to be launched during COP26, the joint UAE-US initiative AIM for Climate seeks to drive more rapid and transformative climate action in the agricultural sector, empowering agriculture to be part of the solution to address the climate crisis, build resilience to its impacts, and create co-benefits of climate action. AIM for Climate launches with support from over 30 countries, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation. Through the Mission, the UAE aims to attract much-needed investments in agriculture, address global hunger challenges and increase sustainable economic growth. The UAE will also announce other ground-breaking initiatives in November that align with the international community’s climate action plans.

PARTNERING FOR CLIMATE ACTION Partnerships are key to accelerating progress on climate action. Having invested $16.8 billion in renewable energy projects in six continents around the world, and as home to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), the UAE’s approach is founded on bridge building with the international community. The UAE’s commitment to the UNFCCC has been in place since 1995. But even prior to that, the UAE was a signatory to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol. 2005 saw the UAE join 191 other nations in agreeing to the measures laid out in the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. 2019 saw the Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting, underlining its local plans and international support, for the planet, the economy and the people. This year, as well as driving the conversation locally with the UAE Regional Climate Dialogue in April, UAE delegates took part in US President Joe Biden’s Leaders Climate Summit, and are now heading to COP26. Underlining the UAE’s bold and continuing climate action is the recent offer to host COP28 in 2023, with the issuing of an inclusive invitation to governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate on practical climate solutions, raise ambition and create lasting, sustainable economic growth. The UAE’s COP26 delegation will comprise representatives of federal and local government and private sector entities, coordinated by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and the Office of the UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change (OSECC). The delegation will highlight the UAE’s strong climate action track record over three decades and reiterate its offer to host the COP28 in 2023. Almheiri concluded: “Together, we face the challenge of leaving a healthier planet to the next generations. In our drive to promote sustainability across the board, we view COP26 as an opportunity to share our aspirations for a low-carbon future.”

Source: khaleejtimes

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

UAE

UAE BUSINESSES AL BAYADER AND NESTO PLUG INTO SOLAR IN A BIG WAY

l Bayader commissions a rooftop solar facility at its JAFZ facility Dubai: UAE’s businesses are taking to solar in a big way – Al Bayader International, the packaging company, has commissioned a solar panelled rooftop at its manufacturing facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone. The project installation was done by France’s TotalEnergies and is reckoned to be the ‘first and largest solar rooftop’ in the food packaging sector). The 980 kWp solar rooftop plant spans 4,000 square metres and will generate over 1.5 GWh of clean electricity annually. Al Bayader’s solar rooftop is part of the Shams Dubai programme. The latest installation will offset 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually – equivalent to planting over 17,000 trees. “Integrating the solar panels on the rooftop of our advanced manufacturing plant will enable us to make long-term financial savings on energy costs and also conserve the environment, contributing to a more sustainable future.”

“The solar rooftop serves the twin objectives of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the dependence on the public sector power grid by generating clean energy at source,”

Ms. Habiba Al Marashi, Co-Founder And Chairperson Of Emirates Environmental Group (EEG)

Through this project, TotalEnergies established its regional presence in the UAE. A hypermarket too Meanwhile, the hypermarket operator Nesto installed a 2.5MW rooftop solar plant using Tier-1 modules. With two more MW currently being put up, the project will go live by the end of the year and offset 1,860 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to taking 385 cars off the road.According to K. P. Basheer, Chairman of Nesto Group, the solar plant can generate 4.3 million solar electricity units annually. Currently, the solar plant facilitates 77 per cent of all electricity needed by the facility, making it one of the ‘greenest’ warehouses in Dubai.

Mr. Nidal Haddad, Founder and CEO of Al Bayader International Source: gulfnews 22

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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UAE

ASIA PACIFIC GROUP OF NATIONS ENDORSES THE UAE’S BID TO HOST THE COP28 IN 2023

he Asia Pacific Group of nations on endorsed the UAE’s bid to host the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in 2023, at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, which brings nation states together to accelerate action on the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. “We are pleased to announce the UAE as the consensus candidate of the Asia Pacific Group for COP28. We would like to wish them the best and are confident for a very successful COP in the Asia Pacific region in 2023,” said Malik Amin Aslam, minister for climate change and special assistant to the Prime Minister, Chair of the Asia Pacific Group. Framework Convention on Climate Change. This October, the UAE launched the net-zero by 2050 strategy. In recent years, the UAE has invested about $17 billion in clean energy projects in 70 countries, with a focus on developing countries.The UAE is home to three of the world’s largest and

“ We are grateful and honoured with the endorsement to host COP28 in the UAE in 2023, and look forward to the confirmation of the UNFCCC. Our vision is to work with all countries to realise net economic benefits from accelerated climate change action,”

Mr. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister Of Foreign Affairs And International Cooperation, Uae.

lowest-cost solar plants. Whether achieving the world’s lowest-cost solar power, introducing biodiversity conversation targets, deploying commercial-scale carbon capture technology, running a zerocarbon nuclear power plant, and pursuing hydrogen energy, the UAE has been a pioneer of significant climate initiatives in the region.

Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

UAE

CEO OF ADNOC RECEIVES ‘ENERGY EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR’ AWARD Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), was honored with the ‘Energy Executive of the Year Award for 2021’ by Energy Intelligence, validating the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) vision for a sustainable energy future.

he Energy Executive of the Year Award is the most prestigious in the energy industry and is a testament to the UAE’s diversified energy leadership, progressive approach to the energy transition, and pioneering climate action. It recognizes the UAE’s approach to creating economic opportunity from all its energy sources as well as a life of service to the nation by Dr. Al Jaber, and sends a message to the youth to give back to a country that has given so much to its people. Receiving the award virtually at the Energy Intelligence Forum, Dr. Al Jaber explained how decisive the support of the UAE Leadership and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was. “The fact is, I would not be receiving this award without the vision and continuous guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. He enabled everything I have achieved so far, both at ADNOC and beyond ADNOC. He has challenged me to push the boundaries of the possible. He has inspired me with his wisdom and guidance. And when times were tough, his support has been unwavering. I also owe a great deal to my family, who have been with me, and there for me, through everything. ” You, my colleagues across the energy industry, have also been essential. You have given me insight, support, and advice at key moments, and I thank you for that. And, importantly, I would like to recognize the tireless efforts of my colleagues at all levels, as well as all our partners across our businesses. This is an award built on the work of many. It is proof that we succeed together, in partnership. “Finally, my thanks to Energy Intelligence – not just for organising this award, but for all they do to deepen our understanding of the energy industry,” Dr. Al Jaber said. Tracing his career journey, Dr. Al Jaber credited the Founding Father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed with providing opportunities for him and UAE citizens to fulfill their potential. “From an early age, I always wanted to be an engineer and it was my dream to work at ADNOC. And growing up in the UAE of Sheikh Zayed, I was given the opportunity to fulfill that dream. Our founding father built a nation that shared its wealth with all its people and encouraged its young people to be all they could be. My father was part of that generation. He pushed me to work hard and to never give anything less than everything I had to give. Importantly, he taught me to always show my love of my country through my actions and by giving back.These values have guided me every day, every step of the way. And if there is one thing I want to give back to my country today, it is

ME&A JANUARY 2022

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber UAE Minister of Industry & Advanced Technology & UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change to pass on to my children and the next generation of Emiratis the most important lessons I have learned. That good work is hard and that hard work is good. And that you can forget you are tired if you never forget that you are making an impact.” In awarding, Dr. Al Jaber the Energy Executive of the Year Award for 2021, Energy Intelligence noted his role in mapping a path of modernization for national oil companies. He was elected by the leaders of the world’s top energy companies and is the 25th winner of this distinguished honor. The last two recipients of the award were Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, and Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell. The energy landscape has evolved significantly over the past five years he has been at the helm and the industry must remain agile and adapt to a variety of externalities, according to Dr. Al Jaber. “Climate action is fundamentally reshaping the geopolitics, the economics, and the policies of the energy system. New energies are rebalancing the energy mix. And emerging technologies are disrupting established business models. Given these disruptions, we must be agile in future-proofing our businesses. We must continue to make core investments to keep up with growing demand. And we must do all this, as the world continues to recover from the COVID 19 pandemic. In short, the role of the energy executive today is more complex than it has ever been.” Dr. Al Jaber went on to detail how his career

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UAE journey led him to Masdar and the foresight of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in establishing the company. “Back in 2006, some thought launching Abu Dhabi’s Future Energy Company, Masdar, was a strange move for a major oil-producing nation,” he explained. “Yet, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed knew where the world was heading and wanted to get ahead of the curve. In fact, our leadership viewed investment in clean, renewable energy as a natural and logical extension of Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s role as a global energy leader and an opportunity to develop new partnerships, new knowledge, new skills and new jobs.” Dr. Al Jaber noted that the UAE has since gone on to establish itself as a leader in renewable energy with three of the largest and lowest-cost solar plants in the world, while its wind and solar portfolio has grown to 13 gigawatts in over 30 countries, in five continents. On ADNOC’s transformation, Dr. Al Jaber recalled the challenging market dynamics when he was appointed as CEO and provided an insight into the motivation of the UAE Leadership in directing the company’s transformation. “Our Leadership saw this as an opportunity that should not be wasted. An opportunity to transform our company. We focused on Performance, Profitability, and Efficiency, embedding technology across the organization and underpinning everything with HSE,” he said, adding that people were at the core of ADNOC’s strategy and they will always be the “magic ingredient.” During his speech, Dr. Al Jaber rallied the oil and gas industry to embrace the opportunities being created by the energy transition and highlighted the steps ADNOC is taking

in this regard. “We should embrace this transition as a unique opportunity for growth. Opportunity is what is driving ADNOC’s investment into new zero-carbon energies like hydrogen. Opportunity is shaping the business case for our carbon capture technologies. And opportunity is creating a premium for the most carbon-efficient barrels in the world. At the same time let us remember that the energy transition is exactly that – a transition that will require a mix of energies that we provide. Together, our companies represent the few who have lifted the many to attain the most prosperity in history. Now our mission is to continue to supply the energy for that prosperity, using the lowest carbon sources available.” Concluding his remarks, Dr. Al Jaber stressed that UAE is committed to working with partners across the world to turn opportunities into reality when supplying the world with sustainable energy. Since Dr. Al Jaber became Group CEO of ADNOC in 2016, the company has consolidated its businesses and unified its brand identity; expanded its crude oil production capacity to over 4 million barrels per day; embarked on a significant expansion of its downstream business; completed the initial public offering (IPO) of ADNOC Distribution and ADNOC Drilling; launched the Murban Futures Contract on ICE Futures Abu Dhabi; concluded Abu Dhabi’s first and second competitive exploration block bid rounds; launched the UAE’s unconventional industry; completed several landmark infrastructure investment deals and strategic equity partnerships; and driven over $64.5 billion (AED236.7 billion) in foreign direct investment to the UAE, amongst other notable achievements. Source: wam

TESLA BATTERY SWITCHED ON AT WORLD’S BIGGEST SOLAR FARM IN MIDDLE EAST The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has successfully switched on a pilot Tesla battery system at the mammoth 1GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, as part of the company’s efforts to diversify its energy mix.

he Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is one of the world’s largest renewable energy projects, and while its current generating capacity sits at around 1,013MW, DEWA plans to expand the project to 5GW by the end of this decade. The new battery system is comparatively tiny. The pilot project includes a Tesla lithium-ion battery system with capacity of 1.21MW and 8.61MWh and was inaugurated last week. “The energy storage project using Tesla’s lithium-ion battery solution at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, aims to diversify the energy mix and enhance energy storage technologies,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA. “The pilot project will evaluate the technical and economic capabilities of this technology within the operational framework of electricity systems in solar photovoltaic power plants. It also tests the role of this technology in the integration between clean energy and energy storage to achieve maximum efficiency and reliability,” Al Tayer said. DEWA also has another storage pilot project at the same solar park, testing a sodium sulphur (NaS) energy solution with a capacity of 1.2 MW and 7.5 MWh. The project’s fourth phase will combine concentrated solar power (CSP) and solar PV for a production capacity of 950MW and will provide the world’s largest global thermal storage capacity of 15 hours. DEWA is also developing a 250MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in Hatta, the first of its kind in the Arabian Gulf region which will generate electricity using water stored at the Hatta Dam with a storage capacity of 1,500MWh.

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Mr. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer MD & CEO of DEWA

Source: reneweconomy

ME&A JANUARY 2022

UAE

KOREAN COMPANIES EYE RENEWABLES, 4IR TECH BUSINESS POTENTIAL IN UAE

Renewables and digital transformation companies at Korean Energy Week in UAE from Oct 3-7, 2021 attract over 250 potential partnership meetings with government and private entities.

t the backdrop of a strategic multilateral trade agreement between the UAE and South Korea, a group of blue chip solar products and services, digital transformation and 4IR tech players are showcasing their products and services at a niche Korean Energy Week during October 3-7 in Dubai. Participants at the Korean Energy Week (www.koreaenergyweekuae.com) is aiming to tap into the exponentially growing market potential in the renewables energy space in the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), led by solar with its share in the regional energy mix estimated to reach 20.6 per cent by 2035 from 5.6 per cent in 2016. “Korea and the UAE enjoy strong bilateral relationship for over 40 years. The highlight of this relationship is reflected in a Korea-UAE consortium bagging the contract to build Arab world’s first nuclear plant, the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant. While government to government relations are on a robust pace, increasingly Korean private companies are also foraying into the UAE, and Middle East and Africa (MENA) market, to tap into the business potential in the technology and renewables verticals,” said Chui Won, President, Energy Valley Enterprise Development Institute (EVEDI), Korea, one of the organizers of the event. Korea Energy Week UAE has achieved substantial traction with over 250 pre-arranged meetings with government and private corporate entities early enough, indicating the buoyancy and growing demand for Korean products and services in the renewables and digital tech space. Apart from EVEDI, the Korean Energy Week UAE is organised by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), JeollaNamdo, Jeonnam Technopark, Korea, Interfairs Korea and Dubai-based Verifair. The headline partner of the event is the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA).

Ms. Denisa Fainis

MESIA General Secretary

government entities, including regulators and private corporate players for Korea Energy Week UAE is a reflection of the market’s demand for new cutting edge products and solutions,” said Denisa Fainis, MESIA General Secretary. A MESIA solar outlook report, quoting Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) said that the solar capacity in the MENA region could reach up to 8,309 MW by 2022 with the region steadily adding more renewable projects. The report also quoted Frost & Sullivan that by 2025, additional investments in solar projects could reach US$182.3 billion. The demand for 4IR tech is also on the rise as the UAE’s Fourth Industrial Revolution strategy aims to position the country as a global hub of innovation and future technology.

Mr. Jeen Joshua Director, Verifair

“The Korea Energy Week UAE is the first in a series of Korean tech and sustainability solutions exhibitions in the pipeline. The UAE is our launch platform considering the country’s growing investments in the sustainability and innovation space and the policy level commitments of the government to green energy and a carbon-neutral future,” said Jeen Joshua, Director, Verifair. The UAE’s Energy Strategy 2050 envisages to generate 50 per cent of its energy needs from clean, energy sources by investing in the range of US$600 billion, with 44 per cent of projects in the renewables space. Dubai has already surpassed a milestone of 9 per cent green energy in the mx in 2020. The UAE is also home to the world’s largest solar PV plant in Abu Dhabi – the Al Dhafra Solar Plant. In Dubai, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

“The region’s renewable energy investments are led by solar and these large cyclical economy infrastructure developments offer a huge market for 4IR tech solutions and solar support services and products. The high level of interest from the UAE Source: utilities 26

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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UAE

SAEED AL TAYER WELCOMES ROMANIA VICE PRESIDENT OF SENATE

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has received a high-level delegation from the Romanian Senate headed by Alina Stefania Gorghiu, Vice President of the Senate.

ther senate members included Eugen Tapu Nazare, Stefan Radu Oprea, Istvan Lorant Antal, Daniel Fenechiu, Lorand Turos, and Florian-Dorel Bodog. The visitors reviewed the latest renewable and sustainable energy technologies, DEWA’s role in supporting the future of clean energy, the UAE’s strategies to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and areas of bilateral cooperation in clean and renewable energy technology solutions. The meeting discussed increasing cooperation and advancing the contribution of Romanian energy and water companies to projects in Dubai and the UAE, as well as the strategic cooperation between DEWA and Romanian establishments in energy and water areas. Al Tayer highlighted DEWA’s key projects, initiatives, and plans to realise the wise leadership’s vision to increase the share of clean and renewable energy. He said that DEWA works to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100 percent of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. One of DEWA’s projects to achieve this target is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world. It has a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030. The 4th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site investment project that combines Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and photovoltaic technology using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. On its completion, the project will have the largest thermal storage capacity in the world of 15 hours, allowing for energy availability round the clock. DEWA also seeks to set two new Guinness World Records titles for the tallest solar tower in the world at 262.44

metres and the largest 700-megawatt CSP plant in the solar park. Al Tayer added that DEWA has launched pioneering projects and initiatives to diversify clean energy sources. These include all clean and renewable energy technologies in Dubai such as solar photovoltaic systems, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), green hydrogen production using solar power, stored water technology at Hatta hydroelectric power plant using clean energy, and research into electricity generation from wind power. Al Tayer explained that these efforts contributed to achieving a significant reduction in carbon emissions in Dubai. Dubai reduced CO2 emissions by 22 percent in 2019 and 33 percent in 2020, exceeding the target of the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy 2021 by more than double. The strategy aims to reduce carbon emissions by 16 percent by 2021. Al Tayer also highlighted the Green Hydrogen project, which is implemented at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. The pilot project is the first project of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to produce green hydrogen, which represents one of the pillars of a sustainable future that depends on accelerating the transition to carbon neutrality to support a green economy by developing the green mobility sector and reducing carbon emissions from various industries. Al Tayer noted that a total of 8,000 buildings have been retrofitted in Dubai as part of the Building Retrofits, one of the Demand Side Management Strategy 2030 programmes. The strategy aims to reduce 30 percent of electricity and water demand by 2030. This contributes to making Dubai a globally leading hub in demand-side management. At the end of the meeting, the two sides emphasised strengthening relationships and exchanging experiences to support cooperation frameworks and reach effective and successful partnerships. This will develop investments in promising sectors and enhance the most prominent investment opportunities in the two countries. Source: wam

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

UAE UAE’S STUNNING EXPO PAVILION IS TOPPED BY ‘FALCON WINGS Sitting at the heart of the World Expo site in Dubai, the pavilion of host country the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sports one of the most attention-grabbing designs at an event that is packed with architectural marvels.

he four-story structure is covered with 28 carbon fiber wings that can fully open in about three minutes to reveal built-in solar panels. When not in use, the panels remain protected from the elements, including the region’s powerful sandstorms. “The conceptual framework was based on inspiration from the grace and force of a falcon, the UAE’s national bird,” says celebrated Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava, who designed the pavilion. The wings can position themselves between 110 and 125 degrees, to better absorb sunlight, and the electricity they produce is sent to the main power grid. Due to the wings’ large size and weight, they open using the power from up to three hydraulic cylinders, which must be accurately synchronized to avoid uneven movements that could crack the structure of the wing itself. Calatrava says that this aspect of the roof’s engineering required close attention.

Mr.Santiago Calatrava

Celebrated Spanish-Swiss Architect

A COOL AND TRANQUIL ENVIRONMENT With a total area of 161,000 square feet, this is the largest of all national Expo pavilions, and is surrounded on all sides by landscaped areas with plants. The building itself is shaped like a traditional Bedouin tent, centered around a spherical auditorium with a large skylight directly above it. “Since Expo 2020 is hosted in a very hot region, it was important that we created a cool and tranquil environment to offer visitors respite from the sun,” Calatrava explains. “We were able to accomplish this by incorporating large water pools and trees that naturally cool the air, creating shade, and reducing reflected heat, making this space a sunken refuge from direct exposure to the extreme climatic conditions.” Inside, visitors can experience six interactive installations, each depicting a chapter of the nation’s story. One of them, called Crossroads, is based around 700 physical objects historically traded in the Middle East such as “mangoes and spinning tops, coffee beans and compasses, perfume bottles and pearls,” and is meant to highlight the UAE’s geographi

ME&A JANUARY 2022

cal position — a crossroads of historical trade routes stretching back thousands of years. Calatrava says that the guiding principles that informed the design of the pavilion and the experience are in line with the Expo themes of sustainability and connectivity. “I wanted visitors to have the opportunity to explore the region’s rich history,” he says, as well as its current innovations and future prospects. Like several other pavilions, this one will be repurposed for cultural uses once the even concludes in March 2022, and it has received a LEED Platinum certification — the highest rank in the world’s most widely used rating system for green buildings. Calatrava sees the event as an opportunity for architects to champion new solutions for global challenges. “We, along with the architects across the entire exhibition are showing the world that we can build sustainably,” he says. “In a sense, we are also exhibiting our work for others to emulate, as we continue to build for the future.” Source: cnn

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‫ﺟﻤﻌﻴﺔ اﻟﺸﺮق اﻻوﺳﻂ ﻟﺼﻨﺎﻋﺎت اﻟﻄﺎﻗﺔ اﻟﺸﻤﺴﻴﺔ‬

‫‪Middle East Solar Industry Association‬‬

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‫‪Empowering Solar across the Middle East‬‬

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SAUDI ARABIA

OIL GIANT SAUDI ARABIA SEES OPPORTUNITY IN CLIMATE CRISIS The climate crisis does not look like good news for the oil industry, but Saudi Arabia is sniffing an opportunity that could help retain its energy dominance for decades.

ot only is the world’s top oil exporter ramping up production, it is also making a major play for the trillion-dollar emerging industries touted as a route to cleaner air. Such a move by one of the globe’s biggest polluters has not gone down well with environmental campaigners, with Greenpeace complaining of “greenwashing”.But a push for the Saudi-promoted “circular carbon economy” is likely to feature at the United Nations’ COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, starting on, after winning G20 approval during the kingdom’s presidency of the body last year.The message screamed out loud and clear at this week’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh: the Saudis are sticking with oil, and they want it to be part of the solution. The thousands-strong gathering dubbed “Davos in the desert”, featuring superstars of the business world. Prince Abdulaziz, who cast doubt on predictions of dwindling oil demand, was speaking after Saudi Arabia promised to go carbon-neutral by 2060 and pledged more than $1 billion for circular carbon economy initiatives and to produce “clean” fuel for 750 million of the world’s poor.

from the air and emissions, and repurposing it for products such as cleaner fuels and fertilisers — are needed to ease pollution further, experts say. “The circular carbon economy may not sound great to those advocating for a hard break with hydrocarbons, but it is the logical way to produce a number of low or zero-emission fuels,” Karen Young, director of the Program on Economics and Energy at the Middle East Institute in Washington, told AFP. The problem with carbon capture and reuse lies in implementation: the technologies are unproven, they can be costly and hard to scale, and they will need vast investment to get off the ground. “The need is hundreds of billions (of dollars) a year,” ” Without a market to facilitate that transfer from the private sector into the hands of people that can actually get the carbon out of the environment, we won’t get there.”

“I’m sure that people have noticed that we have been repositioning ourselves,”

Mr. Bill Winters, Group Ceo Of Standard Chartered Bank

FOSSIL FUEL BASTION

Mr. Abdulaziz bin Salman , Energy Minister

GREEN ERA Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, the de facto ruler who briefly appeared at the Riyadh conference, has called it a “green era” for the country, which is simultaneously raising oil production to 13 million barrels a day by 2027. Prince Abdulaziz flashed up a graphic on the big screen emphasising Saudi plans for “preeminence in the global energy sector” through leadership in oil and gas, petrochemicals, renewables, hydrogen and carbon, listed in that order. The UN has warned that even with aggressive cuts in greenhouse emissions, average world temperatures are poised to rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by 2030, accelerating a devastating trend of drought, floods and extreme heat worldwide. So circular carbon efforts — sucking carbon

Greenpeace cast doubt on Saudi Arabia’s motives, saying environmental concerns were “at best secondary” in the switch to the new approach. “Saudi Arabia remains the bastion of the fossil fuel era, despite their ‘Green Initiatives’ and renewable projects, which represent a fraction of the investment that they continue to pump into the fossil fuel industry,” Greenpeace MENA campaign manager Ahmed El Droubi told AFP. “Their strategic position, as the cheapest producer of oil on the planet, is allowing them to continue to securely invest in fossil fuels, with at best secondary consideration to the impacts on the climate.” However, Saudi Arabia’s strong position in the energy sector is likely to remain as the industry evolves, according to Young. “Saudi Arabia can be dominant as we continue to use oil especially for petrochemicals and transport fuels, and more so natural gas in the next decade or two,” she said. “In renewables, Saudi Arabia has a strong stake in blue and green hydrogen production, solar production… and in solutions in carbon capture and storage. They will be in the energy business for many years to come.” On John Kerry, US President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, told world leaders at the Middle East Green Initiative summit in Riyadh that the shift to cleaner energy was the “biggest market opportunity the world has ever known”. “The winners are going to be the people that get into that market, and I think that is something the crown prince has understood,” he said, nodding to MBS who was seated nearby. Source: france24

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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SAUDI ARABIA

ABU DHABI’S MASDAR TO DEVELOP ARMENIA’S LARGEST SOLAR POWER PLANT

200 megawatt photovoltaic facility to become nation’s largest utility-scale solar plant and will create several jobs

asdar, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, signed an agreement with the government of Armenia to develop a 200-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant, which will be the West Asian nation’s largest utility-scale solar facility. The Ayg-1 project will be developed on a design, finance, build, own and operate basis and will be 85 per cent owned by Masdar, with the state-owned Armenian National Interests Fund holding 15 per cent. The plant will span over five square kilometres and create several direct and indirect jobs. The agreement was signed on by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar, and Armenia’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan in the capital Yerevan. “This agreement marks a milestone on Armenia’s clean energy journey and the development of this project will support the nation’s sustainable economic development,” Mr Al Ramahi said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Armenian National Interests Fund on further opportunities in this field and leveraging the experience we have gained as a global leader in renewable energy projects to support the diversification of Armenia’s energy mix.” Masdar — named Energy Company of the Year for the third time at this week’s Gulf Business Awards 2021 — has more than doubled the capacity of its renewable energy portfolio in two years. It is now investing in or committed to projects with a total generation capacity of at least 13 gigawatts. Aiming to strengthen the UAE’s position as a world leader in green energy, it operates in over 35 countries with a total investment of about $20 billion and is looking to develop new projects in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan. The company, rated A2 and A+ by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, respectively, is also considering new opportunities in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Armenia is looking to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix and reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas. The country also has significant solar energy potential, with an average annual solar energy flow per square metre of horizontal surface of about 1,720 kilowatt hours, compared with the average European figure of 1,000kWh. In July, the Armenian government announced that Masdar was the winning bidder for the project, submitting a tariff of $0.0290 per kWh in a competitive process. “The gradual increase of renewable sources in our country’s energy system is one of the priorities set by the government of Armenia,” Mr Sanosyan said. “We regard this co-operation with Masdar as an important step towards this goal as well as towards endorsing Armenia’s investment potential.” He added that the signing marks the start of a “fruitful and lasting co-operation” between Masdar and Armenia for more projects in the future.“The UAE and Armenia are united in our commitment to take positive action against climate change while creating greater economic opportunities, and this project marks a key stage in Armenia’s clean energy journey and our hopes for this project to serve as an exemplary success to attract opportunities for Armenia from the UAE,” Ahlam Rashid Ahmed Al Abd Al Salami, chargé d’affaires of the UAE embassy in Armenia. This agreement marks a milestone on Armenia’s clean energy journey and the development of this project will support the nation’s sustainable economic development Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar In October, Masdar and Iraq’s

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Mr. Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar, and Armenia’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan in the capital Yerevan.

Mr. Gnel Sanosyan, Minister of Territorial Administration & Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia

Ministry of Electricity and National Investment Commission signed an agreement that implements the first phase of solar projects that will boost the country’s goal of generating 20-25 per cent of its energy from renewables, equivalent to 10-12 gigawatts by 2030. The agreement, a sign of strengthening ties with the UAE under the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi, will build power stations in five locations across Iraq that will generate 1GW. The second phase of the agreement will add another 1GW of capacity. In August, Masdar inaugurated Uzbekistan’s 100MW Nur Navoi solar plant, the country’s first project to be developed on the basis of an independent power producer model, which will be able to power 31,000 households and offset 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide on an annual basis. Source: thenationalnews

ME&A JANUARY 2022

SAUDI ARABIA

HIDROELECTRICA EYES 2 GW IN SOLAR, WIND PROJECTS

Romania’s stateowned power utility Hidroelectrica is looking at wind and solar projects with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW as part of the effort to diversify its production portfolio with renewable energy capacities.

idroelectrica currently operates hydropower plants with an installed capacity of 6.4 GW. It also operates one wind farm, Crucea, acquired at the end of 2020. Bogdan Badea, the company’s general manager, said Hidroelectrica is in various due diligence phases for wind and solar photovoltaic projects with a planned capacity of 2 GW in total. “Our focus is to increase the production capacities with green power plants,” he added, as quoted by News.ro. Hidroelectrica is preparing to build PV power plants on its own land Hidroelectrica is also conducting tenders for the feasibility studies for PV parks which are planned on land owned by the company. It is developing floating PV plant projects on reservoirs at its hydropower plants. Badea reiterated the company is interested in the installation of offshore wind farms. Hidroelectrica is awaiting the development of offshore legislation, he underlined. The company is interested in the installation of offshore wind farms Romania’s Energy Minister Virgil Popescu earlier said the government would finish the offshore wind law this year. According to local media, Hidroelectrica recorded a EUR 340 million net profit in the year’s first half. Of note, in May 2020, Hidroelectrica published a spending strategy through 2037 worth EUR 5.4 billion, including investments in offshore wind. Source: balkangreenenergynews 32

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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SAUDI ARABIA

SAUDI ARABIA’S FIRST INDUSTRIAL-SCALE WIND FARM TO BE OPERATIONAL WITHIN WEEKS

Project will be operated by locally hired Saudis Saudi Arabia’s first large industrial-scale wind farm will be ready to operate within the coming weeks and is expected to produce its first power within months, said EDF Executive Director for Renewable Energy Bruno Bensasson. The 400 MW project in Dumat Al Jandal consists of 99 turbines and will be operated by locally hired Saudis, he told Arab News in an interview on the sidelines of the FII summit in Riyadh. “It will produce renewable power at a very competitive price,” Bensasson said. “It also helps the country to shift power production from liquids to a mix of gas and renewables.” The Kingdom’s first utility-scale wind-power farm is being developed by a consortium led by EDF Renewables in partnership with Abu Dhabi-based Masdar. Once fully operational, it will reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 1 million tons annually and supply 72,000 homes with clean energy. Its tariff of $21.3 per megawatt-hour (MWh), the lowest bid submitted, was reduced to $19.9/MWh at financial close, making Dumat Al-Jandal the most cost-efficient wind-energy project in the world. According to the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council, the development of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy sector could create up to 750,000 jobs over the next decade, as the Kingdom pushes to generate 7 percent of its total electricity output from renewables by 2030. “Wind and solar are complimentary,” said Bensasson. “Solar, of course, delivers power during the day when the sun is here. Wind is a bit different. It comes, for instance, in the evening when the sun is not here anymore. So, we will do both wind and solar.” Renewable energy projects, including wind and solar, are planned across more than 35 parks in Saudi Arabia by 2030.

Mr. Bruno Bensasson , EDF Executive Director for Renewable Energy

Source: arabnews

SAUDI ARABIA PRESSURED UAE TO LEAVE GREEN ENERGY AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL AND JORDAN, REPORT CLAIMS Saudi Arabia attempted to pressure the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to backtrack on a major deal on solar energy with Israel and Jordan, a report has revealed.

ccording to the news site, Axios, which cited two anonymous senior Israeli officials familiar with the matter, Riyadh tried to pressure Abu Dhabi into pulling out of a deal to build a huge solar farm in Jordan which would supply Israel with electricity. In return, Tel Aviv would construct a desalination plant which would provide water to Amman. Saudi officials reportedly called their Emirati counterparts to protest the deal and encourage them to cancel it, even offering an alternative deal between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan, which would have side-lined Israel. That agreement went ahead on, however, with US climate envoy, John Kerry, backing it up and attending the signing, making it the region’s largest renewable energy project to date. Riyadh’s protest did alter some aspects of the agreement, as Abu Dhabi notified Kerry and their Israeli

and Jordanian counterparts of the Saudi’s dissatisfaction, and requested some changes to the language used in the deal which were accepted. That also caused a delay of several hours for the signing of the deal. The reason the Saudi government was against the deal was not due to any opposition to cooperating with Israel or supplying it with electricity, but reportedly because Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wanted to draw the UAE into its own ‘Green Middle East’ vision in which the kingdom aims to lead the region on climate issues. According to Axios, Saudi Arabia was left out of the deal because it does not have open diplomatic ties with Israel, while the UAE has already established relations with the Israeli government in the Abraham Accords last year. The incident marks the latest clash of interests between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi which, in recent years, have experienced a fall-out in the alignment of regional interests. Source: middleeastmonitor

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

SAUDI ARABIA

THE

RELIANCE-SAUDI

ARAMCO DEAL IS

COLLAPSING AS THE INDIAN FIRM TURNS TO

GREEN ENERGY

Reliance Industries, India’s largest company, struck a deal in 2019 to sell 20% of its oil-to-chemical business to Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, the state-controlled energy giant. The stake, valued at $15 billion, was to be one of the largest investments by a foreign company in India.

ow the deal appears to be off, apparently a victim of Reliance’s shifting priorities as it pursues a green energy future. Reliance attributed the change of heart to the “evolving nature of Reliance’s business portfolio,” in a statement released on Nov. 19. After decades in the fossil fuels business, Reliance announced in June a major investment in renewable energy. Chairman Mukesh Ambani said the company would invest $10 billion over three years to build four factories to manufacture solar photovoltaic modules, batteries, fuel cells, and electrolysers, for the production of hydrogen. Reliance’s pivot to green energy follows Modi’s climate pledge Reliance’s pivot to renewable energy followed Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s 2020 pledge to reduce emissions by up to 35% and move 40% of India’s electricity generation to non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. Reliance is in line to supply up to a fifth of the nation’s green energy. The government is offering the private sector big subsidies to pro

duce solar energy. Reliance also has been buying up green energy companies, including a Norwegian solar panel maker it purchased for $771 million.

ARAMCO’S “CARBON NEUTRAL” PLEDGE Aramco has its own climate agenda, which includes being “operationally” carbon neutral by 2050, a goal that refers only to its own energy use, not what it produces. Yet those ambitions do not appear to be aligned with Reliance’s. In the statement, Reliance took pains to stress the companies were parting on good terms and that they had “a very deep, strong and mutually beneficial relationship.” In other words, after the breakup they hope to remain friends.

Source: qz 34

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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SAUDI ARABIA

KSA OPENS MENA’S LARGEST SOLAR PANEL PRODUCTION FACTORY

The total area of the solar panel production factory in the Tabuk region exceeds 27,000m2, with an estimated production capacity of 1.2GW he largest solar panel production factory in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been inaugurated in the presence of the Saudi Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, HE Eng Osama bin Abdulaziz Al-Zamil. Phase 1 of production has also been launched at the solar panel production factory, which is located in the industrial area of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. The total area of the factory exceeds 27,000m2, with an estimated production capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (GW).

The factory specialises in the production of solar panels, with investments amounting to $186.6mn (SAR700mn). The factory is also one of the most advanced in the field of automation within the Kingdom. The production mechanisms rely on machines and employ the latest international technologies in the field. The Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources,

HE Eng Osama emphasised that the plant aims to activate investment in solar energy, diversify energy sources, and enable integration between relevant government agencies and the private sector. He also praised industrial investors for supporting the renewable and sustainable energy industries throughout the Kingdom.

HE Eng Osama also clarified that the presence of such factories in the city of Tabuk also has a strategic benefit due to its proximity to major gigaprojects in the Kingdom such as the city of NEOM and The Red Sea Project. In addition, the project has focused on tapping into the potential of qualified national human resources, employing them through various jobs needed in the factories. The Kingdom is progressing well in its framework for Vision 2030 to build a sustainable and renewable energy sector that supports its economic growth. The nation aims to leverage its geographical and climatic factors that could benefit renewable energy sectors, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency. Source: mepmiddleeast

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

SAUDI ARABIA

SAUDI SOLAR COMPANY EXPANDS ITS INVESTMENTS TO

FRANCE, GREECE & KAZAKHSTAN

Desert Technologies, one of the world’s leading companies in the field of renewable energy, recently signed an agreement with contracting companies for the construction of a 12 MW solar photovoltaic plant on the Greek island of Trifyila. The project is Desert Technologies’ first investment in the Greek market with a capacity of 12 MW and spanning over 24 sites, the capacity of each being 500 KW. The project is funded by the Saudi Exim Bank under its established regulations aimed at financing the export of Saudi nonoil products and enhancing their presence in global markets. This came on the sidelines of representatives of the Desert Technologies Group participating in the Saudi private sector delegation accompanying the Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Abdul-Aziz Al-Falih representing the National Companies Promotion Program “NCPP” during his official visit to Greece. During which he met the Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the two sides reviewed the strategic partnership existing between the two countries since 1926, and the opportunities available to Greek investors and companies in the Kingdom within the framework of Vision 2030. The Minister of Investment and the accompanying delegation met with a number of senior government officials and executives from several major Greek companies in various business sectors, participated in the meetings for investors hosted by the Greek Company Federation and witnessed the signing of many agreements between Saudi Arabia and Greece. Eng. Majid Al-Refaie, Chief Commercial Officer of the Desert Technologies Group, said that the meetings Desert Technologies attended in Greece, France and Kazakhstan were among the meetings held by the Ministry of Investment represented by National Companies Promotion Program “NCPP”, and come within its role to enhance trade and investment cooperation as well as DT’s position in the re

ME&A JANUARY 2022

newable energy market. Meetings were held the developer of renewable energy projects in Greece “MMT”, with the support of the official Greek Investment and Trade Promotion Agency “Enterprise Grace”. DT also attended the meeting held by Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Minister of Investment, and Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, Greek Minister of Investment and Development, and met with their counterparts from Greek companies in the field of renewable energy, such as: Mytilinoes, SEV, Copelouzos, Enterprise Greece and the Public Power Corporation of Greece. In the same context, Mr. Khaled Ahmed Sharbatly, Executive Partner and Head of Investments at Desert Technologies Group, participated in the meetings held by the Saudi Minister of Investment, Eng. Khaled Al-Falih, during his official visit to France. There he met with French officials and heads of major French companies in the renewable energy sectors, aiming to promote the investment relations between the two countries and taking full advantage of the unprecedented opportunities offered by the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision, and introducing French officials and executive leaders to the legislative reforms and achievements were made to enhance the investment environment and system in the Kingdom. Sharbatly formed relations and acquaintance with French companies working in the field of renewable energy, and discovered opportunities for working and investing with them. In Kazakhstan, Mr. Khaled Sharbatly met with the Minister of energy of Kazakhstan, Mr. Nurlan Nugayev and the vice minister of energy Rakhimov Kairar Bo latovich, on the sidelines of the meeting held with the Minister of Investment, Eng. Khalid Al-Falih and the accompanying delegation. Where Sharbatly discussed areas for investment in solar energy, and the development of smart infrastructure future of the system for solar hybrids and electric cars from the Kazakh side. Planning investments in the field, and exploring future cooperation opportunities between DT and the Kazakh Ministry of Energy in light of DT’s industrial potential which qualifies them to contribute to the development of the solar energy sector in Kazakhstan.

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SAUDI ARABIA

THIS TINY SOLAR-POWERED FACTORY CLEANS UP DIRTY WATER

or large parts of the world, good quality drinking water is hard to come by. The first solarpowered beverage factory is helping fix the problem The world’s first completely solarpowered beverage micro-factory started its journey in the spring of 2020, when Swedish startup Wayout International waved its container-sized machine goodbye from the port of Norrköping, south of Stockholm. With shipping options already radically reduced by Covid-19, the micro-factory set out across the Baltic, Atlantic and Mediterranean seas, via the Suez Canal, stopping by Saudi Arabia, India and Sri Lanka, landing at last in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. From there, it went by truck through the developing rural landscape, over the Ngorongoro crater wall at 2,640 metres above sea level, across the great Namiri plains and up to the Mara river. It’s a big change of scene from a noisy industrial site in Sweden to a peaceful eco-tourism camp in northern Serengeti. It had taken Wayout 18 months to go from idea to complete product. The result is a module that converts sunshine and local groundwater into pristine, potable water – and which can also produce premium craft beer and soft drinks. A single module puts out 150,000 litres of clean, remineralised water per month and lets whoever operates it serve up to eight different types of drinks through the integrated tap station. The micro-factory is offered for lease and the fully automated beverage production is done via a desktop app letting the local operator – and Wayout, in Stockholm – monitor and control the process remotely. The system in the Serengeti is powered through a 110 kWp solar field with the energy stored in 2,000Ah OPzS batteries. In the Serengeti, water is abundant, but not fit for drinking. The natural mineral content is extreme, making it corrosive to teeth and internal organs, and the unique ecosystem – including the famous “great migration” of wildebeest – makes the living soil busy with bacterial processes. That is why the micro-factory takes its source water from a local groundwater bore hole and filters it through an advanced integrated treatment system that removes all impurities before remineralising it for optimal taste and quality. “It started out as a fun project between friends, at a moment when craft beer and micro-brewing was a thing,” says Martin Renck, one of Wayout’s three founders. The first system was developed to be used in the hospitality industry and by major breweries and beverage brands that seek to produce locally and sustainably. As the trio started pitching the concept to prospective clients, they hadn’t realised how urgent the issue of water purification was. “When we listened to the feedback we got – not just in Africa but from all around the warm regions of the planet – it became clear that it was the mineral water that was the really remarkable thing. We realised we not only had a commercial opportunity, but also a greater mission to take on,” Renck says. Touching down on the red dirt track at the Kogatende Airstrip in Northern Serengeti, the infrastructural challenges of the region become instantly clear. Here, the dynamics of the natural world still rule; scorching days followed by chilly nights, dry seasons followed by torrential rains, wildebeest and zebras followed by big cats and hyenas, with termites, boomslangs, hyraxes, aardvarks and pangolins filling the gaps. Roads and rivers meander with the seasons. Man-made structures morph and merge with biomass. Good quality drinking water may be as far away as a few days by four-wheel drive, and the distribution logistics leave scars in the sensitive biotope. The

Mr. Martin Renck Wayout Micro Factories Co Founder & Ceartive Director

effects of the Wayout micro-factory in this location have been profound. In situ, at the safari operator Asilia’s Sayari Camp, this circular system has eliminated single-use plastic bottles by nearly 18,000 units per year, not only for the camp guests but also for the operating staff and the park rangers in the region. Together with the safari camp operators, the rangers are what protects the national park by maintaining fire breaks, educating locals on the economic upsides of a healthy ecosystem, deterring and removing poachers, and protecting wildlife and people from each other when needed. Easy access to eco-friendly safe drinking water lets the rangers focus on their mission and ultimately improve the experience for the close to 150,000 yearly eco-tourists to the region. Through the localised production of beverages, Sayari Camp further reduces their environmental impact by avoiding unnecessary waste management and routine long-distance trips. In addition to obvious health benefits, the unlimited supply of safe drinking water also frees up time and resources for families, advancing educational and economic prospects that support long-term development. And the effects have exceeded expectations. “In this location, the transition to a circular and eco-friendly economy in and around the Sayari Camp was more or less instant, which really should make us all think: if this can be done in the far-out region of Northern Serengeti, couldn’t it then be done anywhere?” Renck asks. Renck says that the pandemic has boosted the interest in their innovation. The company is currently busy finalising its second concept: a “water-as-a-service” offer aimed at regions and nations with greater need for desalination and safe drinking water. One such project is slated for roll-out in early 2022 in a large island nation. By producing drinking water through distributed desalination, the cascade effects of the infrastructure system could help replenish the island’s water table, restore local farming and revitalise important parts of the island’s economy. “One of the things we as humanity learned from this pandemic is that we can no longer rely on global value chains,” Renck says. “A transition to local and sustainable production of food and beverages [could help] humanity greenwash – in the genuine, positive sense of the word – civilisation.” Source: wired.co.uk

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

AUSTRALIA

FARMERS SHOULDN’T HAVE TO COMPETE WITH SOLAR COMPANIES FOR LAND. WE NEED BETTER POLICIES SO EVERYONE CAN BENEFIT When it comes to solar energy, Australia has a huge natural advantage with an abundance of sun and vast, flat expanses of land. This makes it relatively easy to build solar farms across the continent.

ome proposed projects, however, overlap with arable land. As a result, solar companies and farmers are often in competition, with conflicts already arising in Canberra , Queensland and Wagga , the South Riverina and Greater Hume in New South Wales. But these are familiar battlegrounds. Such tension has played out over many decades with agricultural communities facing serious environmental, social and health impacts from coal and coal seam gas projects. We can avoid history repeating itself if we urgently set the right policies and laws in place. The pressing task for law and policymakers now is to ensure Australia’s clean energy transition sees solar development occur with co-benefits for local communities, and protects productive agricultural land.

RISING TENSION Australia has the highest average solar radiation per square metre of any continent in the world. This has led the federal government to aim for ultra-low cost solar production in its longterm plan to reduce emissions. Likewise, Labor’s recent announcement of 43% emissions reduction target by 2030 relies heavily on increased renewable energy. But right now, the state and territory governments are leading Australia’s clean energy revolution, rolling out crucial“Renewable Energy Zones”, often within or near agricultural regions. Agricultural land is flat, cleared, and sometimes situated near existing power infrastructure and distribution networks. Such conditions are ideal for solar farms , which can require up to 2-3 hectares per 1 megawatt (MW) of solar energy.

An aerial view of Williamdale Solar Farm, 35km south of Canberra.

Clean energy companies must avoid the development mistakes of the fossil fuel industry or risk losing their social licence . In fact, rising tension between agricultural communities and solar companies has led the NSW government to recently consider restricting solar and wind farm developments in regional towns. Some communities who have experienced the impacts of coal seam gas , such as the Darling Downs , are particularly sensitive to the potential impacts of any new energy development. This includes aquifer contamination, damage to the surrounding environment and ecosystems, and the displacement of

communities. Now, these communities are once again being asked to negotiate land access and compensation arrangements for solar farms. Vast solar farms may mean arable land can no longer be used for growing crops. The main problem is the twin policy objectives of accelerating renewable energy development and preserving sensitive land uses aren’t woven into legal precedent in some states.

Source: menafn 38

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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SAUDI ARABIA

We can avoid further tension between agriculture ad solar companies with effective co-sharing policies.

For example, in Queensland , local councils usually need to assess the merits of a new solar farm project by default, rather than assess them“against a range of other existing uses or matters such as agriculture”. What co-benefits could look like Experiences in Victoria show a better alternative. Two Victorian tribunal cases assessed solar farm proposals on agricultural land from companies PowerVault Mildura and Helios Volta . The tribunal emphasized the need for “co-location” as a foundational policy pillar to balance the overall community benefit. The Victorian government has also taken steps to create best practice guidelines for renewable energy companies to deal with agricultural land loss. This includes protecting high-quality soils and strategic agricultural land . But it’s not just about managing loss of land. Best practice regulation could lead to a range of benefits for farmers, from electricity benefits in the local community to sustainable farming practices. For one farmer in Dubbo, installing 56,000 solar panels provided crucial shade and condensation to help grass stay green for sheep grazing during drought. Likewise, solar energy from Sundrop Farms in South Australia powers a desalination unit, which produces pure water to irrigate crops. How over 50,000 solar panels provided shade and green grass for a farmer’s sheep during drought. So what needs to happen now? overnments should incentivize and priorities renewable energy and storage facilities on rehabilitated land, such as land previously used to develop coal, gas or other minerals. Agricultural land should be selected only if no alternative sites are available, or if co-location is possible. An excellent example of this is the recent site selection of a 150MW battery earmarked for construction at the previous Hazelwood power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. Another is Kidston in regional Queensland, where an abandoned gold mine was transformed into the world’s first solar and pumped hydro system. An old mine in outback Queensland becomes

a renewables goldmine. As the world surges towards net-zero emissions, coal and gas will be rapidly phased-out. Solar and wind are now the cheapest form of energy generation and are already outcompeting coal and gas in the electricity grid. The clean energy revolution will create endless economic and job opportunities for regions . Australia could lead the world in renewable energy and other clean industries such as renewable hydrogen . But we need strategic and holistic planning to ensure the transformation of our energy system strikes the right balance for both our champion industries – renewable energy and agriculture.

Source: menafn

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

SAUDI ARABIA

ONE OF THE LARGEST GREEN HYDROGEN PROJECTS IN THE WORLD: THYSSENKRUPP SIGNS CONTRACT TO INSTALL OVER 2GW ELECTROLYSIS PLANT FOR AIR PRODUCTS IN NEOM Air Products (NYSE:APD) has awarded thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers a contract to supply a more than two-gigawatt (2 GW) electrolysis plant for one of the world’s largest green hydrogen projects at NEOM in Saudi Arabia.

nder this contract, thyssenkrupp will engineer, procure and fabricate the plant based on their large-scale 20 megawatt (MW) alkaline water electrolysis module. Upon commissioning, the project partners – NEOM, ACWA Power and Air Products (“NEOM Green Hydrogen Company”) – will operate the facility, which will produce hydrogen to be synthesized into carbon-free ammonia for export exclusively by Air Products to global markets. Engineering and procurement activities have been initiated, and the start of production is scheduled for 2026. Strong partnership with strong sustainability lever In July 2020, Air Products, together with ACWA Power and NEOM, announced the signing of an agreement for world-scale green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility powered by renewable energy. thyssenkrupp was selected by its strategic partner Air Products early in the project as technology supplier and has worked intensively on early engineering and project development. The signing of the project contract is a key milestone of both companies’ joint effort over the past year to use their complementary technology, engineering and project execution strengths to develop green hydrogen production facilities. The realization of the project leverages thyssenkrupp’s large-scale technology, supporting Air Products’ development of green hydrogen for sustainable transportation, chemicals and power generation. Dr. Samir J. Serhan, Chief Operating Officer at Air Products, says: “This project milestone with thyssenkrupp furthers our strong progress at NEOM to deliver carbon-free hydrogen on a massive scale in the Kingdom and for the world. The development and execution of this innovative megaproject is one of many required to drive a successful energy transition, and we look forward to continuing to develop, build, own and operate facilities that help address the world’s significant energy and environmental challenges. This project is the kickoff to become a frontrunner in the green hydrogen economy.” “As a world market leader in electrolysis, we bring in two decisive factors to realize such gigawatt projects: With our large-scale standard module size and gigawatt cell manufacturing capacity per year together with our Joint Venture partner De Nora, we are able to deliver large capacity projects today”, says Denis Krude, CEO of thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers.“With this gigawatt project, we are committed to invest into ramping up our manufacturing capacities further. We also aim for a strong local setup which is key to delivering customized service solutions throughout the entire plant life-cycle and enables our strategic partner in their vision to become a global decarbonization pioneer.”

Dr. Samir J. Serhan Chief Operating Officer at Air Products

Denis Krude

CEO of thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers

Source: ETEnergyWorld 40

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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SAUDI ARABIA

SAUDI ARABIA, OMAN SIGN DEALS WORTH $30 BN Saudi Arabia signed deals with Oman valued at $30 billion, state media said, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a tour of Gulf Arab countries, including former rival Qatar.

Saudi and Omani companies “signed 13 memoranda of understanding worth $30 billion”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.The MoUs between the two countries, which seek to diversify their economies away from oil, range from cooperation in the energy and tourism sectors to finance and technology. Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, arrived in Muscat, the first stop in a regional tour ahead a Gulf Arab summit in mid-December. According to SPA, he will also visit the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. Prince Mohammed’s trip to Doha will mark the first visit since Saudi Arabia and Qatar severed ties four years ago. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut all links with Qatar in June 2017, alleging it backed radical Islamist groups and was too close to Riyadh’s rival Tehran — allegations Doha denied. They restored full relations with Qatar in January after a landmark summit. The prince’s tour comes amid a flurry of diplomacy to resolve regional disputes, especially with Iran and Turkey. There have been signs of a thaw between Saudi Arabia and Iran in recent weeks, with Tehran and Riyadh holding several rounds of talks since April aimed at improving ties. Meanwhile, Turkey has sought to rebuild relations with former rivals in the Gulf, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Simmering tensions between Ankara and Riyadh escalated after the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. Prince Mohammed’s tour coincides with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Doha, although Qatar’s foreign minister has said it was coincidental. The Gulf states are seeking to diversify their economies away from oil, investing heavily in recent years in the tourism, entertainment and sports sectors. Source: AFP

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

EGYPT

NORWAY’S SCATEC RETURNS TO BLACK IN Q3 2021 Norwegian clean power producer Scatec ASA (OSL:SCATC) booked a consolidated profit of NOK 169 million (USD 21.1m/EUR 17.3m) in the third quarter of 2021, turning the numbers around from a loss in the same period a year ago as power production and revenues took off.

catec’s power plants generated 1,065 GWh, more than double compared to last year’s third quarter, thanks to contributions from hydroelectric plants acquired earlier in 2021, strong operational performance and the grid connection of new solar farms, the Norwegian company said. Proportionate revenues arrived at NOK 1.25 billion, up by some 125% year-on-year, with revenues from power production accounting for NOK 1.13 billion of the total amount. The third-quarter EBITDA surged by 140% to NOK 767 million. Figures for the January-September period also paint a picture of strong growth with nine-month consolidated profit rising by 66% on the year to NOK 321 million. At the end of the of third quarter, Scatec had 3,355 MW of hydro, wind and solar plants in operation, not all wholly-owned. The company estimates the plants will reach production levels of between 1,000 GWh and 1,100 GWh in proportionate terms in the fourth quarter. “Scatec is well positioned for continued growth with a broad renewable offering, focus on high growth markets and a proven business model,” said Scatec CEO Raymond Carlsen. “We are maturing a large project pipeline in several renewable technologies and building on our multi-technology capabilities and experience in realising complex projects. The recent award for 270 MW solar in South Africa and the new partnership with Fertiglobe and the Sovereign fund of Egypt to develop a 50-100 MW green hydrogen facility in Egypt are testimonies of this” Carlsen added.

Mr. Raymond Carlsen , CEO Scatec

Source: renewablesnow

YOUTHS LOVING EGYPT FOUNDATION TO TAKE PART IN UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE Fathy’s expressed Youths Loving Egypt Foundation’s

keenness on attending all international conventions pertinent

Minister of Youths and Sports Ashraf Sobhy met

to climate change, environment, and sustainable develop-

with Chairman of ‘Youths Loving Egypt’ Foun-

ment, highlighting its experience in those sectors.

dation Ahmed Fathy for the latter to present the

The foundation’s chairman also displayed the ‘Green Youth

foundation’s participation plan in the UN Climate

Centers’ initiative aimed at

Change Conference 2021 (COP26) taking place on

powering buildings of youth centers by solar energy. That is in addition to

October 31 – November 12 in the United Kingdom’s Glasgow

promoting awareness through the Climate Pioneers Program, consisting of a series of training camps on the matter.

Source: egypttoday 42

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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EGYPT

PLUG POWER SELECTED FOR EGYPT’S FIRST GREEN HYDROGEN PROJECT

Fertiglobe has selected Plug Power as a technology partner for a 100W green hydrogen project set to be deployed in Egypt. Fertiglobe, a consortium of OCI, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Scatec ASA, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, and Orascom Construction, will use Plug Power’s electrolyser technology to produce green hydrogen as feedstock for up to 90,000 tons of green ammonia production in Ain Sokhna, Egypt. The project will be Egypt’s first green hydrogen production facility. Owing to Egypt’s increase in solar and wind capacity, as well as its proximity to potential hydrogen markets, the country is a perfect fit to implement a green hydrogen project, according to the consortium.

“We are thrilled by the Consortium’s exciting move to put Egypt and the MENA region on the green hydrogen map.”

“The project reflects TSFE’s alignment towards realizing the goals of Egypt’s 2030 vision, which embraces the principle of a green economy as a fundamental element of the comprehensive development process.”

Mr. Ayman Soliman, CEO of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt

He said the project will support Egypt and the MENA region to accelerate the decarbonisation of numerous sectors including transport. Green hydrogen will help to decarbonise numerous sectors which represent around 80% of current global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, including as an important alternative fuel in the power sector in Japan and other countries.

Mr. Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power

“This is a huge step forward in our ambition to decarbonise our footprint to net-zero by 2050, and simultaneously help our customers decarbonise. As an early mover in clean hydrogen-based fuels, we are pleased that Fertiglobe is partnering with Plug Power to deploy cutting-edge technology at scale.”

“We are excited to announce this key milestone in this essential piece of our hydrogen strategy. At start-up, this will be the largest green hydrogen and largest green ammonia application globally. Construction is expected to follow an accelerated schedule to showcase the green hydrogen facility during COP 27 in Egypt in November 2022, highlighting Egypt’s and Fertiglobe’s growing leadership in the renewable energy markets and commitment to a greener future.”

Mr. Nassef Sawiris, Executive Chairman of OCI NV

Mr. Ahmed El-Hoshy, Chief Executive Officer of Fertiglobe Source: powerengineeringint

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

EGYPT

EGYPT CAN RELY ON SOLAR ENERGY TO COVER POWER NEEDS, EXPORT TO EUROPE: FAROUK EL-BAZ

Egypt enjoys solar energy more than any part in the world, said famous Egyptian scientist Dr. Farouk el-Baz. l-Baz added that the maps show that the Western Desert and part of Libya receive the most solar energy in the entire world. He further stated in a TV program, that he highly appreciates the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to benefit from solar energy through cooperation with international companies specialized in renewable energy. “We should have done this a long time, because solar energy can cover Egypt’s needs of electricity, no exaggeration, besides the Egyptian state can also export electricity generated from solar energy to Europe,” he continued.Dr. Farouk El-Baz added: “Egypt has experts in solar energy, and solar energy must be fully used in Egypt.”He further warned of negative consequences of climate change and how it could destroy countries, highlighting the changes seen in atmosphere as a result, not only on earth, but also on other planets.

Dr. Farouk El-Baz Famous Egyptian Scientist

Source: egypttoday

INNOVATIVE FINANCING CAN HELP UNLOCK PROMISES AT EGYPT’S COP27 – MINISTER

Egypt has a $25bln development finance portfolio CAIRO- Innovative financing tools provide a route to ensuring that commitments made at the COP26 climate summit are converted to action as Egypt plans for the follow-up event next year, the country’s international cooperation minister said. Scaling up climate mitigation and adaptation projects would be a challenge given the lower credit ratings of many countries that need to finance them, Rania Al Mashat said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference. Such countries “are at a certain level of development and they are not polluting, but they are required to move very fast in the direction of commitments,” Mashat said. “I believe that going forward it is on all of us to try and see how we can create an action plan which is both conducive on the national side but also within the global agenda. Egypt has a $25 billion development finance portfolio that has helped fund an infrastructure boom and protect the economy from the impact of COVID-19. It hosted a side event at COP26 to develop a framework on how to push blended finance, which uses a mix of public and private capital. Ahead of next year’s summit in Sharm el-Sheikh the government will look to showcase its own work to phase out coal in power generation, improve management of waste water, and launch the construction of new metro and high-speed rail lines,” Mashat said. Egypt was the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to issue green bonds, and has established a goal for 30% of public projects to meet environmental standards by 2024. “These are messages that say a country at our stage of development is taking the climate agenda quite seriously,

diversifying sources of finance, making sure that the projects are environmentally friendly,” Mashat said. Egypt, which has high potential for solar and wind power, recently brought forward a goal of producing 42% of its electricity generation from renewable sources to 2030 from 2035, The International Renewable Energy Agency has suggested Egypt could raise the target to 53%. Benban solar plant in southern Egypt, one of the world’s largest, was seen as an example of how to draw in new private sector participation in a country that has struggled to attract such investment due to the heavy presence of the state. The most important positive outcome of COP26 was the high level of engagement from the private sector, Mashat said. “Given the need to go from the billions to the trillions and see this operational on the ground, the presence of the private sector was quite encouraging.”

Source: Reuters 44

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CHINA

JD.COM AIMS TO BUILD CHINA’S FIRST CARBON NEUTRAL LOGISTICS INDUSTRIAL PARK IN XI’AN JD.com is making progress in its construction of the first carbon-neutral, intelligent industrial park for China’s logistics industry, with the Xi’an Asia No.1 logistics park expected to be carbon-neutral on the operations level by early 2022

t nearly 300,000 square meters, JD’s Asia No.1 logistics park in Xi’an has deployed 100,000 square meters of rooftop solar PV with a capacity of 9 MW, which generated a total amount of about 8,500 MWh of electricity from January to October in 2021 — equivalent to providing electricity for about 3,900 Chinese households for a year and reducing carbon emissions by approximately 5,670 tons when compared to purchasing electricity from local power plants. In addition, Xi’an Asia No.1 can meet heating needs through distributed air conditioning instead of a conventional boiler room in certain areas. New energy is widely used in forklifts and other special equipment, including 22 sets of charging terminals that can support charging 44 vehicles at a time. Streetlights in the park will also gradually be replaced by solar lights. With the support of advanced technologies including 5G, blockchain and AI, JD is also researching an industry solution for carbon neutral parks by further improving operating efficiency and lowering energy consumption.

GREEN WAREHOUSING: AUTOMATION ENABLING WAREHOUSES TO OPERATE WITHOUT LIGHTING JD.com pioneered a rooftop-distributed solar PV system in its Shanghai Asia No.1 location in 2017, which now generates 3.11 million kWh per year, supplying the energy for warehouse lighting, automatic sorting, packaging, picking and other activities. Currently, JD has completed installation of PV systems at 12 logistics parks, while automation systems and robots also enable warehouses to operate without lighting. Such “dark operations” help save an average of 2,283 kWh per minute at JD’s logistics parks, which is equivalent to the electric consumption of a normal household for one and a half years. According to forecasts, the total production capacity of JD’s PV system will reach 100 MW by the end of 2021, which could provide energy for 50,000 households in a year. And in three years, the capacity is estimated to reach 1,000 MW — contributing green energy to 85% of JD’s intelligent industrial parks.

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GREEN PACKAGING: SAVING 400 MILLION METERS OF TAPE A YEAR In 2015, JD.com proposed the concept of “Slim Tape,” which cut the width of packing tape from 53 mm to 45 mm and helped reduce 400 million meters of tape in 2020 — an amount that can circle the equator 10 times. Now, “Slim Tape” has been made standard for China’s postal industry and used in external logistics enterprises. As early as 2015, JD.com also began to use reusable cold chain boxes for fresh produce business, making it the first e-commerce company in China to adopt reusable packaging. As a result: 180 million disposable foam boxes were saved from waste from 2015 to 2020. The reusable Green Stream Box, which can be used 50 times, was later introduced and has been widely used in over 30 cities in China. JD also initiated China’s E-commerce & Logistics Packaging Standards Alliance and worked with brands to redesign e-commerce goods’ original packaging to prevent transportation dam age and reduce the need for repackaging. As of now, brands

GREEN TRANSPORTATION: 12,000 NEW ENERGY VEHICLES REDUCING 120,000 TONS OF CO2 EMISSIONS PER YEAR Over the past four years, JD has placed nearly 12,000 new energy vehicles in more than 50 cities across China and introduced more than 1,600 charging terminals, which can reduce up to 120,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year. JD Logistics is also the first logistics company in China to introduce a fleet of hydrogen-energy vehicles, which have been put into use in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Foshan. In addition, by optimizing the warehousing network and transportation routes, JD can reduce the number of vehicles in transit, improve the full-load rate of round-trip vehicles and reduce vehicle waiting time. JD.com strives to build a green and low carbon business model and is leveraging its core competencies to continuously decrease its carbon footprint and operate a cleaner supply chain system.

Source: egyptindependent

ME&A JANUARY 2022

EGYPT

SUNGROW’S REVEALS 1500 VDC SOLUTION ON 100 MW EGYPT PROJECT Embedded with a high protection level and smart forced air-cooling technology, the central inverter solution SG3125HV for 1500Vdc system was utilised by Sungrow on the Egypt project.

eading inverter solution supplier for renewables, Sungrow, has revealed its role on a 100MW retrofit photovoltaic (PV) project in Egypt. Sungrow highlighted that its 1500Vdc central inverter solutions have been operational at the Benban Solar Park project in Egypt for the past 12 months. Considered one of the largest retrofit PV projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the project has boosted the performance of the existing asset for customers. The plant is based in the eastern Sahara Desert, which is one of the world’s driest and most hot locations, with ample sunshine and vast land. As the location is frequented by sandstorms and extreme temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius, the solar project equipment installed there tends to be susceptible to significant wear-and-tear. The project was grid-connected in 2018 and has been suffering from malfunction and burning problems due to the vulnerable quality of previous non-Sungrow inverters, the firm said in a statement.

large-scale utility PV plant, the Sungrow solution enables high yields with maximum inverter efficiency of 99%, compatibility with tracking systems while at the same time ensures low transportation and installation cost due to standard container design. The inverter relies on integrated zone monitoring for online analysis and troubleshooting. Sungrow offers the 24/7 responsive and adept service, ensuring the sustained and reliable operation. The CEO of the project’s IPP, Andrea Chianese, said: “It is one of the most prominent projects we’ve joined in the region. We appreciate Sungrow’s proven efficiency and reliability which will address our puzzles and increase yields at large.” Chianese added: “The inverter is the real beating heart of a project, choosing a cutting-edge inverter can contribute to the project for 25 years and beyond. By revamping and repowering, most stakeholders will reap the benefits of the boosting plant’s performance.”

SUNGROW ROLE ON THE BENBAN SOLAR PARK PROJECT Embedded with a high protection level and smart forced aircooling technology, the central inverter solution SG3125HV for 1500Vdc system utilised by Sungrow in this retrofit project can perform more efficiently and stably even in harsh environments, making it the ideal match for the plant. Optimised for Source: mepmiddleeast 46

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

IRAQ

IRAQ TARGETS CLEAN ENERGY BY 2030

33%

Iraq is seeking to raise the share of clean energy to 33% by 2030, helped by a solid expansion in the country’s solar capacity, oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail said at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum earlier this week.

he Mideast country, which is the second-largest OPEC oil producer, has set a plan to reach 12,000 MW of installed solar capacity by the end of the decade. Over the past months, the government has already made progress towards the goal and signed contracts for solar projects with international companies such as France’s TotalEnergies (EPA:TTE), Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power (TADAWUL:2082), UAEbased Masdar and PowerChina. The deal with TotalEnergies

includes the construction of a 1-GWp solar photovoltaic (PV) complex near the port of Basra in the south of the country while the pact with Masdar concerns the start of a project for a 2-GW solar complex in the central and southern parts. As part of the strategy, the Arab country is also preparing to sign a deal with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power for the generation of 1,000 MW of solar power in the Najaf Governorate, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil has announced. Source: renewablesnow

IRAQ PLANS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF ENERGY CONTRACTS WITH SAUDI ARABIA

he Iraqi government plans to sign energy contracts worth tens of billions of dollars with Saudi Arabia, the state newspaper Al-Sabaah reported on, citing Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar. Baghdad is discussing a partnership with Saudi Aramco to explore and develop natural gas fields in Iraq’s western desert, it said. The Iraqi government is also in talks with

Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power to build water desalination plants and solar energy stations in Iraq, it added. The two countries are also discussing joint petrochemical projects.

Source: reuters 48

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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IRAQ

IRAQ, UAE’S MASDAR TO BUILD 5 SOLAR POWER PLANTS IN NEW CLEAN ENERGY PUSH

The first phase will include the production and generation of 1,000 MW out of a total capacity of 2,000 MW

he UAE and Iraq signed a contract to build five electric power plants using solar energy, Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. (Masdar) and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity and the National Investment Authority signed the contract for the plants. The first phase will include the production and generation of 1,000 MW out of a total capacity of 2,000 MW, a statement by the media spokesman for the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, revealed in a statement. The step comes as the first stage taken by the Iraqi government to rely on alternative, clean, and renewable energies in the production of electrical energy, and to meet the country’s energy needs. Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar earlier said it was expecting to sign contracts with Masdar until 2025, targeting the production of 10 to 12 gigawatts (GW), representing about 25 percent of Iraq’s electricity needs that exceed 40 GW.

Source: arabnews

NORWEGIAN-LED CONSORTIUM TO BUILD SOLAR PLANT IN KARBALA

Iraq signed an agreement to build a 525-MW solar power plant in Karbala. The project will be built by a consortium of companies led by the Norwegian Scatec , whose main shareholder is Equinor (formerly Statoil ). Also involved are Egypt’s Orascom and Iraq’s Al-Bilal . The signing comes after recent announcements of renewable energy projects by Masdar , TotalEnergies and PowerChina .

Source: Ministry of Oil

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

IRAN

IRAN’S 1ST THERMAL SOLAR POWER PLANT TO BE LAUNCHED BY 2023

Iran is going to launch its first thermal solar power plant by the fiscal year 1402 (starts on March 2023), Managing Director of Iran’s Thermal Power Plant Holding (TPPH) Mohsen Tarztalab announced.

ocated near the central city of Yazd in central Iran, the new power plant will produce 17 megawatts of clean energy, according to Tarztalab. As Mehr News Agency reported, this unique power plant which is being constructed next to Yazd Combined Cycle Power Plant on a 40-hectare land is aimed to develop clean energy, indigenize the knowledge for the construction of such thermal power plants, reduce environmental pollution, and increase the efficiency of Yazd Combined Cycle Power Plant, the official said. Iran has nearly 500 MW of capacity for traditional photovoltaic solar power. Thermal solar, however, uses a new technology that allows storage of the sun’s heat to generate electricity for hours, including at night. Renewables, including hydropower, account for about seven percent of Iran’s total power generation, versus natural gas’ 90 percent share. Based on Iran’s Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2016-2021), the country was aiming for 5,000 megawatts (MW) increase in renewable capacity to meet growing domestic demand and expand its presence in the regional electricity market. But in the final year of the plan, only one-fifth of the figure has been achieved. Iran was supposed to become a regional

hub in the field of energy in the past Iranian calendar decade (March 2011-March 2021), but evidence shows that the country is facing a shortage even in the supply of electricity inside the country, an issue that many believe that could be achieved by developing renewable energy and increasing efficiency of the thermal power plants. After the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal, in July 2015, many foreign delegations came to Iran for making investments and constructing renewable power plants in the country. However, following the re-imposition of the U.S. sanctions, foreign investment in the country’s renewable industry has fallen significantly. The Energy Ministry has recently announced plans to roll out around 10,000 MW of new renewables capacity within the next four years on top of nearly 1,000 MW which is operating currently.

Source: tehrantimes

IRAN’S FIRST SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN YAZD The 20-megawatt station – the first of its kind in the country – is under construction in Ashkezar County on a 40-hectare land adjacent to Yazd combinedcycle power plant Iran’s first solar thermal power plant will become operational in Yazd Province in 2022, which will be integrated with the provincial combined-cycle power plant, the head of Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said. “The 20-megawatt station – the first of its kind in the country – is under construction in Ashkezar County on a 40-hectare land adjacent to Yazd combined-cycle power plant,” IRNA quoted Mohsen Tarztalab as saying. An integrated solar combined-cycle (ISCC) power plant is a hybrid technology in which a solar thermal field is integrated within a combined cycle plant. In ISCC plants, solar energy is used as auxiliary heat supplier, supporting the steam cycle, which results in increased generation capacity or a reduction of fossil fuel use. Source: financialtribune 50

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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TURKEY

VINCI, GRADIENTE ENERGIAS RENOVAVEIS PARTNER ON RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS Vinci Partners Investments Ltd., the controlling company of an alternative investment platform in Brazil, has partnered with Gradiente Energias Renováveis S.A. as part of a new strategy to be managed by Vinci Partners’ infrastructure segment.

he partnership has a pipeline for the development of three clean energy focused projects in Brazil, which together represent approximately R$2.5 billion in investments. The projects include the construction of a solar power complex in the state of Bahia, consisting of two phases, and of a windfarm complex in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, both developed by Gradiente, a company within Grupo Electra. “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Gradiente Energia, a company with an excellent management team with 20 years of experience in the sector,” says José Guilherme Souza, partner and head of infrastructure for Vinci Partners. “Through this partnership, we are establishing a new strategy within the Company’s ESG oriented investment opportunities, focused on renewables and the transition to a low carbon economy, which is an important milestone for us.This partnership is of enormous strategic significance for Gradiente, as we partner with such a world class investment house as Vinci Partners,” states Sergio Brandão, CEO for Gradiente. “It demonstrates Gradiente’s ability to develop quality renewable projects for mutual benefit and to meet Brazil’s growing clean energy needs.”

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Mr. José Guilherme Souza Partner & Head Of Infrastructure For Vinci Partners

Source: solarpanelnews

ME&A JANUARY 2022

TURKEY

GE AND UKEF TO DEVELOP TURKEY’S LARGEST SOLAR PROJECT GE and UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), have agreed to finance Kalyon Enerji’s 1.35GW Karapinar solar project located in the Konya Karapinar province, Turkey.

he Karapinar Solar Power Plant, part of Turkish renewables investor Kalyon Enerji’s solar portfolio, is approximately 11km long and 3km wide, equivalent to over 4,600 football pitches. It will prevent 1.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually and ultimately serve the needs of 2 million people. As part of the agreement, UKEF will guarantee a $291 million Buyer Credit Facility, subject to financial close, and GE will deploy its solar technology, as well as ensure design, engineering, project management, site management, and commissioning of the project. Guto Davies, Global Public Capital Leader at GE Energy Financial Services, said: “GE is proud to be partnering with UKEF again to deliver one of Turkey’s most significant renewable projects and GE’s first FLEXINVERTER solar power station technology outside the US.”

Prakash Chandra, CEO of Renewable Hybrids at GE Renewable Energy, said: “There is tremendous potential for solar energy in Turkey which can be addressed through smart solutions that will help integrate this natural energy source into the grid in a reliable way and at utility-scale.”

Mr. Prakash Chandra Ceo Of Renewable Hybrids At Ge Renewable Energy

Mr. Guto Davies Global Public Capital Leader At Ge Energy Financial Services

GE’s FLEXINVERTER solar power station combines a solar inverter, medium voltage power transformer, and an optional MV Ring Main Unit, integrated in a 20-feet ISO high cube container. The FLEXINVERTER is a key component of GE’s Renewable Hybrids FLEX portfolio, designed for multiple applications to enable dispatchable, green MWhs. The integration of GE’s FLEXINVERTER solar technology and the assembly of the solar power station will take place in the UK, however, GE’s Grid Solutions site in Gebze, Turkey, will be producing the transformers for integration in the solar inverter system. GE Renewable Energy has already completed the commissioning of the FLEXINVERTER solar power station technology for the 267MW Kalyon Enerji’s Karapinar phase I solar plant. The project is part of the first Turkish solar YEKA tender launched in 2017 by the Turkish Ministry of Energy under the Renewable Energy Resources Zones (YEKA) program and will help Turkey expand its renewable resources.

International Trade Secretary and UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said: “With over £200 million ($269 million) worth of backing, we are helping to bring solar energy to two million Turkish households. “Firm action from the UK alone is not enough to fight the climate crisis. UKEF’s financing encourages other countries to invest in renewable energy and opens new markets for UK businesses that will power a recovery underpinned by green jobs.” Financing for the project will be structured on a project finance basis and raised through J.P. Morgan as acting lead arranger and lender supported by the UKEF guarantee.

Ms. Anne-Marie Trevelyan International Trade Secretary & UK International Champion on Adaptation & Resilience for the COP26 Presidency

Source: power-eng 52

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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ISRAEL IN TALKS TO BUILD SOLAR POWER PLANTS IN EGYPT

A Bloomberg report stated that Israel is in talks to build solar power plants in neighboring countries including Egypt and Jordan as part of its plans to reduce carbon emissions and boost its green technology sector.

The agency quoted Yair Pines, directorgeneral of the Israeli prime minister’s office, as saying that discussions were underway on possible joint projects in Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus and other countries. Pines said that " the sites of the projects will be built in countries with large areas of land, unlike Israel, which is densely populated." He added that it will provide its technological expertise for these projects, provided that these stations are linked to the networks of the concerned countries, which opens the way to increase the contribution of solar energy to its energy mix. The Enterprise newspaper suggested that these countries will re-supply most of the electricity to Israel, which will help it achieve its new goal of producing 30 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030. “Our neighbors have lots of open land, something we don’t have. We have the technology,” Pines said in an interview in Jerusalem. The Israeli army announced earlier in November that senior Israeli military officers discussed with their Egyptian counterparts increasing the presence of the Egyptian army in the Rafah area. Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel in 1979. However, relations between the two countries can be characterized as a “cold peace”, largely due to constant criticism of Israel by Egyptian media and the general public. Nevertheless, relations between both countries have improved in recent years. Egypt and Israel were both signatories to the East Mediterranean Gas Forum charter in 2020, and the two

are currently coordinating cooperation in natural gas and future plans to liquefy Israeli gas in Egypt for re-export. Israeli Prime Minister Bennett met for the first time with Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel in August in Jerusalem. Both discussed the security situation in the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s role as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Source: egyptindependent

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ME&A JANUARY 2022

FEATURED

JOLYWOOD ANNOUNCES GW LEVEL SHIPMENTS OF TOPCON MODULES TO MIDDLE EAST

olywood Solar has announced that its shipments of TOPCon modules to the Middle East went through the 1GW ceiling as of the end of 2020. Bloomberg figures have put cumulative installed capacity in the Middle East at 10.33 GW and, with a market share of nearly 10%, Jolywood has become the region’s largest n-type supplier. Most of the Middle East has the dry summer climate and high irradiation typical of the desert, which is theoretically ideal for the proliferation of solar energy. On the other hand, the region’s extremes of temperature across seasons and even day and night, combined with natural phenomena such as dust storms, present a serious challenge for equipment installed to generate solar power. The regional leaders of the solar industry, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, have made considerable efforts to increase the use of solar over recent years. The renewable energy market in the Middle East is expected to grow to over 192 GW, of which solar is predicted to account for some 42% (80.6 GW), offering significant opportunities for solar exporting countries. Niwa series modules are widely used in a number of utility-scale power plants across the Middle East, including in Oman and Dubai. The Niwa series can operate normally up to 70OC and, with an excellent temperature coefficient, can effectively reduce output loss and risk caused by extreme temperatures. At the same time, the high reflectivity topography of the desert allows Niwa modules to display their advantage in high bifaciality, increasing power generation while reducing BOS costs and LCOE. For these reasons, some investors and EPCs have dubbed Niwa the “Power Generation Prince of the Desert”. “Many leading PV companies are now embracing TOPCon technology and commencing a mainstream shift towards n-type. With its long-term commitment to R&D, production and sales of TOPCon products, Jolywood has positioned itself as a leader in the technology. The combination

of our vast experience, advanced equipment and low cost makes our product range perfect for a wide variety of project applications,” commented Liu Zhifeng, the company’s VP. “We manage all aspects of projects, from construction to commissioning, and bring our customers and partners in numerous global markets the benefit of experience allied to high quality products”.

Jolywood Solar Shanxi 16GW PV cell factory design sketch

With cumulative shipments of 5GW, Jolywood has already supplied its Niwa cells and modules to over 50 countries and 600 clients, establishing more than 20 overseas branches including in Germany, Italy, Brazil, the Netherlands and Vietnam. Construction of a 16GW TOPCon cell factory is also currently underway, evidence of the company’s ambitions to continue to expand its global market share and to drive the direction of efficient PV cell technology. Source: pv-tech.org

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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FEATURED

SCATEC UNVEILS PLANS FOR MORE HYDROGENTO-AMMONIA PROJECTS IN EGYPT A Bloomberg report stated that Israel is in talks to build solar power plants in neighboring countries including Egypt and Jordan as part of its plans to reduce carbon emissions and boost its green technology sector.

nder the MoU, Scatec and SCZone would see if they could set up a largescale facility to produce ammonia from green hydrogen, derived from renewables, for export purposes, the Norwegian company said. “The SCZone welcomes the opportunity to host the project at its prominent industrial areas and vital seaport, as a significant, integrated project in one of the most substantial sectors capturing the world’s attention at the moment,” Yehia Zaki, Chairman of the General Authority for the SCZone, said of the plan. In a meeting with Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi held Scatec talked about its plans for large-scale seawater desalination, and ammonia and hydrogen production based on renewable energy sources, it said in today’s statement.“It was a great honour to meet with HE President El-Sisi, where he shared the government’s ambition to develop Egypt into a renewable hub for the region. Power from solar and wind, green hydrogen, green ammonia and water desalination are all key components of this plan and Scatec is well positioned to take part in it,” the company added.The talks and the MoU come about two months after Scatec announced a firm project to develop a green hydrogen production plant in Egypt with an electrolysis capacity of up to 100 MW.Scatec partnered on this development with The Sovereign Fund of Egypt and Fertiglobe plc, a producer and exporter of nitrogen fertilisers.US-based Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) has recently been selected to deliver a 100-MW PEM electrolyser for the future plant, which will produce hydrogen to convert it into green ammonia.

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Mr. Yehia Zaki Chairman of the General Authority for the SCZone

Source: renewablesnow

ME&A JANUARY 2022

INTERVIEW

POWER N SUN: A ONE-STOP SOLAR SOLUTION COMPANY MR. LK VERMA, Director, Power n Sun In an exclusive conversation with EQ International Magazine, LK Verma, Director, Power n Sun, informed about his company, market outlook, opportunities in the field of renewable energy and more. Edited Excerpts

EQ: How many solar components like solar power systems, PV panels, inverters, batteries, pumps, UPS, genset, and other solar energy products have you supplied so far? What is your target or expectation for 2022? LK: We are a one-stop solar solution company. Most of the type A and type B components that are used in the solar industry, especially for the rooftop, we keep under one roof and provide it to the industry. The major items are PV modules, inverters, connectors, cables, combiner boxes, and monitoring and control systems. We are dealing with around 7-8 types. In the same type, there are different types, like inverters are off-grid, on-grid and hybrid, and in the PV modules are bifacial, mono-facial and more. We deal in more than 400-500 different STU levels, and the product lines might be around 12-13. We started supplying or getting into this market from 2017 onwards. In a general way, we have our footprints in 60 per cent of the projects in the region. EQ: What brands are you currently distributing, and what are the plans to add up more brands? LK: We spend a little time onboarding the brands with us. The middle east solar industry is upcoming and evolving. Currently, we are with JA, LONGi Solar, LG on a different league of products and types (IBC cells, which might be the most expensive PV modules as of now). On the inverters, we are the largest distributor for Sungrow, around 120 MW to 230 MW per year. Recently, we have added Sofar to the list. On an off-grid telecom site, we are with Schneider. There are around 10-12 key brands. Fortunately, most of these brands are tier 1 companies in their sector.

ME&A JANUARY 2022

EQ: As a distributor, you must be helping all the installers with their projects. How critically important is your role in the entire value chain or the rooftop solar? LK: If you look at the value chain in the solar industry, in the C&I sector, mostly you have a manufacturer or the components. Between the consumer and the manufacturer, you have the integrators, the distribution companies, EPCs, developers, subcontractors and a couple of people. Each stakeholder or member of the chain, if they are not able to contribute towards reducing the overall cost of the system, towards reducing the overall time required and not contributing towards improving the quality…. If they are not contributing to the time, cost and quality dimension of a solar project, then it means they are becoming a burden to the entire value chain. So, we strive to contribute to the entire industry from the beginning. There are three fundamental points on which we work. Quality is not in our hands because we are buying and selling. We can only improvise on the quality of services we provide. But time and cost are two important aspects. The most important aspect of this is time. The installers gain if they can deploy 30-50 per cent solar extra on the roofs with the same resources. Surprising to all of us, 75-80 per cent of the time is spent in making the material available to the site. It is only 15- 20 per cent of the time where you install the plant when everything is ready and available. We focus on the 70 per cent and strive to provide at least 3035 per cent of our time reduction to our customers, who are EPCs and developers.

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INTERVIEW We do this by putting the best practises and principles of the supply chain in this entire process, which helps in increasing the availability and fastens it by at least 30 per cent. This is being done through master planning. Basically, demand aggregation from the market on a real-time basis, drawing the projections on a quarterly or half-yearly basis, placing in advance the orders to the suppliers, getting it in material and then distributing it. In simple words, we take the risk before the project is assigned to someone. We take that risk and place the order in advance for that. On the cost front, the first is the upfront cost of the project or the component. The second is the cost of waste elimination. The wastage in the form of MOQs, optimising the logistics cost, last-minute design changes… If these wastages are not handled appropriately, you land up at least between 2 to 10 per cent in the overall project. We are an integrator and distributor with that absorption power because for us it is not one project. At any point in time, we will be supplying at least 30-40 per cent of projects in the region. Thus, it can be consumed. The third is an important aspect experienced by most of the companies. The PV module prices are very volatile. It has been changing almost every two weeks. Since we deal in a large volume, we are a wholesaler. We have at least one or a half month. In terms of PV modules, around 70-80 containers are in transit or in a stage where it is being moved out of a plant. We sit across many of our key clients in such situations, and we have given them the price benefit. These are three-four areas where we work to see if we can contribute exactly to the value chain. EQ: In your mission of speeding up solarization, what is the pricing and technology roadmap of Power n Sun? What are the plans of the company? LK: The concept of speeding up solarization needs to be understood in detail. With a given space, policy and set of people, if we are implementing 70-100 MW in a year with the same resources, policies and structure, can this be 130-140 MW? The challenge is how to do this. One is material planning, that’s because around 7 per cent time is consumed there. Second, alignment is required because if we see PV modules, various companies have different power bills. At any point in time, there will be at least 10-15 different varieties of PV modules. The basic point is that at that point of time of project designing, if the information is available on what is going to be available in Q2, Q3 or Q4, then there can be a sort of alignment, which can be created at the time of planning the project, the time of execution and market availability. More than distribution, we are a demand aggregator. We got the internal methodologies where we capture the market demand on a real-time basis, sum it up weekly, try to draw projections, and this is a rolling schedule. (The market demands capturing rate, putting the supply chain principles, then converting them into the orders and starting distribution.) The required corrections also take place, and the new schedule also comes. EQ: What are the upcoming trends and opportunities in the field of renewable energy? LK: Every six months, a year and every quarter, the entire space is changing two years back, we were talking about 300 Wp of the module (poly)… then it changed to mono, now it is p-type and n-type.

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The entire industry is addressing the technology at the highest possible level. We are seeing a new product coming up every six months. The case is the same with the inverters. The solar industry is evolving, and new products are coming from manufacturers and suppliers. They are doing a good job in spending the money on R&D and reducing the cost. The efficiencies are also going up. Certain things are changing in this region. Two to three years back, the industry was mostly driven by the EPCs. Especially in the UAE, which is a front-runner or a torchbearer of solarization in this region. First, it started in Jordan almost around 10 years back. Jordan has a solar penetration of more than 15-16 per cent. The rest of the GCC countries are still at an initial stage. The new and nice trend that is coming up is in the form of the developers. The consumer is different, only lending his roof and getting the benefit, someone else who is putting up the money is owning up the assets, and someone else is installing the system for them. That is a good change taking place. In my opinion, the same thing will continue in 2022. EQ: Power n Sun is present in more than 35 countries. In what all countries are you planning to expand further? What are the target markets for Power n Sun? LK: We have footprints in 30-35 countries in this region. We have customers in these places, and then we supply and service from here in Dubai. We were doing this till the start of the COVID. We have Power n Sun in India, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the other two markets. We are looking closely at a couple of countries in Europe where the same distribution model of the Middle East can be applied there and in the GCC region. EQ: What is driving the demand for solar? Is it policies and regulations, RE 100 initiate or decarbonisation? How do you envision the real potential in these markets? LK: There are two different markets. The first one is ongrid, which is mostly driven by the policy frameworks of the country. At that level, it is a commitment towards climate, future of renewables, which are the drivers. Most of the countries in this region, especially in the GCC, have a plan for the next 10-30 years. So, there is a framework of those policies already in place. Bringing them into the execution, putting them into the practice and creating the required infrastructure... all such things have started happening. Dubai has been quite fast for the last 3-4 years. We all await Saudi’s policy, and we all are waiting for the gestation period to finish for the implementation. Oman has come up with some nice policies and schemes. This region was always having low-cost fuel compared to other regions, which has made many generators and generator leasing companies create their base in the region. The PV solar or PV diesel hybrid systems are happening, but there is high scope to happen further.

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INTERVIEW EQ: Do you see this market for energy storage and Hybrid RE systems is picking up, and will it increase at an exponential pace? LK: Energy storage can pick up for different reasons in various regions. In the GCC region, it will take time to pick up. It has already started in the form of EV chargers, off-grid and hybrid systems. However, to get into the on-grid with the energy storage will take some more time because of other factors such as power tariffs. EQ: How do you see the demand for Bifacial going up? LK: In 2019 or 2020, there were two or three projects in the UAE. In 2021, the projects will be at least two or three times more. We have supplied bifacial for three or four projects in the region. This is a nice product, but it has to be handled right from the engineering stage. I think the manufacturer needs to work more in terms of educating the market. There are sincere and good benefits vis-a-vis the Monofacial. One more aspect of the Bifacial is that it increases the fire rating, which becomes a special requirement of a couple of projects under the municipalities because the fire rating has to be high. On the impact on LCOE, Bifacial is the right product if planned and executed well. There is much more to come in the Bifacial, and we should see the same trend of doubling of consumption in 2022. EQ: For the vision and mission of the company, and strengthening RE in the MENA region, what are the expectations from the policymakers, regulators and the government? LK: Policymakers are doing their job well. In certain areas where the power tariff is still low, standardisation or some phased manner removal of subsidies in providing those powers should take place. Apart from these, the residential (sector) is still slow. So, for making the residential area active, the financial and banking systems should also come forward and create some schemes where short-term loans of 2-4 years are granted. Similarly, about the trends of auto-finance, the speed can go much faster if the banks come forward. EQ: Kindly share some of the notable achievements of your professional journey of 28 years in India, the Middle East and Africa. LK: I am a first-generation entrepreneur. Out of 28 years, I have worked in a corporate field for 18 years in a large group from India. I joined them as a management trainee. In 2010, I resigned as a president in Middle East operations. Somehow, it was my plan that before I get to the 40s I should give a fair attempt to implement and practice some of the ideas that I had in the last 18-19 years. I started in 2010-11. The journey was through business consulting as strategic growth and business expansion are areas of my domain expertise while working in the company. Those learnings of many years helped. I always believed that solar is a business run more by passion rather than looking at the balance sheets or bottom lines. This is a new subject, and not an industry matured like the automobile or IT. It is in the initial phase. When so many factors are influencing, it is the passion that keeps you going. In 2013, the parent company Orange Overseas was first initiated.

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We imported two containers in the first year. This year, it is close to 750 or 760 containers. It has been long but fun-filled years. We got a small team of around 20-23 people in Dubai, 10 in India and other teams. We work as a family, people are from different countries, but then the single area of our work is how to exceed the expectations of the market and how to service them. EQ: What do you think is the market outlook for the next year in the countries you are operating in? Do you see a lot of demand growth? LK: We have to segment the market. There are a lot of activities happening on the utility-scale. Talking about the distributed market in the Middle East region, Dubai was doing around 70-80 MW every year. I think it might cross 100 MW in 2021. Saudi and Oman have a policy in place. 2022 will have 70- 80 per cent higher demand than what we have in 2021. EQ: Is it the economics in favour of solar or the quest for decarbonisation, which is driving up the demand and healthy growth? LK: Two strong reasons- on a map of the solar irradiations and conversion of solar energy into usable energy, that rate is quite good in the Middle East region. When you operate in such a region the efficiencies of the plants are better; the yield generation is better than in other areas. You get sunlight 360 days here. Second is the commitment from the policymakers in a phased and systematic manner. The countries Oman, Saudi, Bahrain will also start contributing. EQ: What are your expectations from the technology suppliers from module or inverters partners that can help you, the entire value chain and the industry? LK: Most tier-1 suppliers are in this difficult situation because the sea freight is changing radically. Many challenges are faced by the industry in post-COVID times. The postCOVID issues are getting more or less stabilised. We will see them having less impact on the complete value chain of any industry in 2022. All large companies are doing their best. If the environment is more stable, they will perform much better than today. The new products are coming up frequently. EQ: Do you see the demand for e-mobility and EV chargers going up? Any plans for starting distributing EV chargers? LK: EV charger is a part of our portfolio. We are already in discussion with the companies. EV charging has to grow because the fuel prices are going up. The only issue is what percentage and time frame of its growth. That needs to be looked at through the policy decisions or infrastructure requirements. The work is in process.

Interview by

Mohita Gupta Journalist

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FEATURED

JOLYWOOD ANNOUNCES GW LEVEL SHIPMENTS

OF TOPCON MODULES TO MIDDLE EAST

olywood Solar has announced that its shipments of TOPCon modules to the Middle East went through the 1GW ceiling as of the end of 2020. Bloomberg figures have put cumulative installed capacity in the Middle East at 10.33 GW and, with a market share of nearly 10%, Jolywood has become the region’s largest n-type supplier. Most of the Middle East has the dry summer climate and high irradiation typical of the desert, which is theoretically ideal for the proliferation of solar energy. On the other hand, the region’s extremes of temperature across seasons and even day and night, combined with natural phenomena such as dust storms, present a serious challenge for equipment installed to generate solar power. The regional leaders of the solar industry, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, have made considerable efforts to increase the use of solar over recent years. The renewable energy market in the Middle East is expected to grow to over 192 GW, of which solar is predicted to account for some 42% (80.6 GW), offering significant opportunities for solar exporting countries. Niwa series modules are widely used in a number of utility-scale power plants across the Middle East, including in Oman and Dubai. The Niwa series can operate normally up to 70oC and, with an excellent temperature coefficient, can effectively reduce output loss and risk caused by extreme temperatures. At the same time, the high reflectivity topography of the desert allows Niwa modules to display their advantage in high bifaciality, increasing power generation while reducing BOS costs and LCOE. For these reasons, some investors and EPCs have dubbed Niwa the “Power Generation Prince of the Desert”.

Jolywood Solar Shanxi 16GW PV cell factory design sketch With cumulative shipments of 5GW, Jolywood has already supplied its Niwa cells and modules to over 50 countries and 600 clients, establishing more than 20 overseas branches including in Germany, Italy, Brazil, the Netherlands and Vietnam. Construction of a 16GW TOPCon cell factory is also currently underway, evidence of the company’s ambitions to continue to expand its global market share and to drive the direction of efficient PV cell technology.

Oman 125 MW Solar Park “Many leading PV companies are now embracing TOPCon technology and commencing a mainstream shift towards n-type. With its long-term commitment to R&D, production and sales of TOPCon products, Jolywood has positioned itself as a leader in the technology. The combination of our vast experience, advanced equipment and low cost makes our product range perfect for a wide variety of project applications,” commented Liu Zhifeng, the company’s VP. “We manage all aspects of projects, from construction to commissioning, and bring our customers and partners in numerous global markets the benefit of experience allied to high quality products”. Source: pv-tech.org

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FEATURED

% 0 5

energy cost is saved by rooftop owners in ME

Laurent Longuet, CEO of SirajPower talks about UAE’s net zero target, financing, hurdles and prospects of renewable energy, and more in an exclusive interview with EQ International Magazine…

uring an interview with EQ International Magazine, Laurent Longuet, CEO, SirajPower said, “If you are a bank and you want to develop some energy project abroad, you cannot do it anymore for coal, oil and gas because you won't get the expert credit from the government… Your alternative is to finance renewable energy… They will have to become more aggressive because they will love to develop their business in their region, they have no option. If they don't, they die. So they will do it, and it will benefit our industry.”

REGULATIONS AND ENERGY STORAGE The recently implemented net metering cap by DEWA was for technical reasons like grid protection. The regulation applied increases the ease of application and installation of a solar system. With these relatively straightforward regulations, it gets difficult to integrate very large solar plants of 10 MW, 20 MW or more. This could create a significant impact on the grid that the utility cannot control with such simple regulations. In the UAE, the government has set very aggressive ambitions to become carbon neutral for renewable energies and to achieve that, some new regulation will be in place. Further explaining, Longuet said, “It will come with different caps, and it will come… with some incentive as well on installing some storage capacity because we know (from experience from countries with high solar penetration)... that it is needed to give some stability to the grid by adding some storage.” “We have been working for the past two years on developing new business about storage and hybrid plants. Providing not only solar (energy) but providing solar (energy) with a battery system... In some circumstances where it is a remote site with a limited share of diesel generators, we strongly believe that with the electric vehicle… it is going to be massive very quickly in this region. Storage will become a key part of the pictures,” he added while talking about the future of developing solar.

INVESTOR’S OPINION Expectations in terms of the market: As a company from Dubai, SirajPower focuses on developing the domestic market. A strong local base is essential for equity investors while refinancing a portfolio, which has been SirajPower’s focus during the first three to four years of the company. Beyond Dubai, the rest of the (Middle East) region and especially the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is coming up with the necessary regulatory framework. The potential is massive. When you extend to the rest of the UAE you can easily develop a good number. The population of Saudi Arabia is at least three times that of the UAE. This makes it more than 10 GW of potential with these two countries. He said, “This is the market we target. Taking the leadership, this will be our approach to grow our market with multi-GW targets in the region.” Expectations in terms of finance: This capital intensive business requires significant CapEx investment. In terms of operations, it is relatively limited, and the fuel (solar elevation) is for free. It is essential for developers to work with banks. Laurent explained, “We have the past

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year to make sure that we are putting ourselves in a situation where we could refinance our portfolio beyond the equity funding that was initially made by our shareholders to be able to get access to some significant debt facilities.” He added, “SirajPower, 15 months ago achieved with the first agreement with APICO (Arabian Plastic Industrial Company Limited), a bank from Saudi and Bahrain - the first time in the region, able to put in place a long-term not recurse debt facility, and this is how we are now developing the portfolio. We definitely have a plan beyond this first facility to expand with a pickup and obviously to get some more cash sources with portfolio going.”

FEATHER IN THE CAP In the C&I sector, rooftop projects were encouraged initially, more than ground-mount, he said while adding that the last project SirajPower did was with Emerson, an international group with headquarters in the USA. Talking about the Middle East, Laurent mentioned facilities in Dubai with a 3MW-project, adding, “(This) is a typical project that we continue developing. We have (also) started… (to) put a lot of emphasis on the carport, covering car parking with solar canopy,” which has massive potential in the middle east summers. “We are in (the) process of building two of such projects, one is for Lulu Hyper Market (hypermarkets in Dubai)... (And) recently commissioned with the Emirates group (is) two-megawatt solar projects. It is a Rugby stadium... When you have such facilities (like) large parking , these are good targets for carport.” Discussing the last type of solution, Longuet said that his company is providing canopy styled projects in the C&I sector. He shared that the company planned a project with one of the PVC pipes manufacturing companies. He mentioned, “They have some home materials and solutions which are sensitive to sun irradiation and so they have storage areas which were causing them some trouble due to the impact of the radiation on their material. We have covered this storage area with quite a large and high (6-7 meters high) canopy. Now they are getting energy from this canopy, and the materials they store are protected from some radiation.”

WHERE THE FUTURE OF 'ME' LIES "Eventually solar makes so much sense that all countries in the region will put the necessary regulation to get solar developed. In terms of, after UAE, Saudi and Oman… (are) the countries where this development will be massive (and) are countries with very high demand for electricity. So, the next two on the list are Egypt, given the growth of the population... GDP, (and) energy needs… And Iraq has a huge potential as well for development. They currently have a very limited production of solar energy, and the potential is massive.” He explained, “When you try to figure out what will succeed or not, it is a lot about economics. And today, in all the countries that we have mentioned there is no cheaper way to produce electricity than solar. Solar is the cheapest source of electricity.”

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FEATURED ENERGY MARKET Where there is some confidential and vivid public information about solar, there is less public information on large utility solar plants. The cost of electricity, irrespective of the technology, was consistent in this region last year. Solar is the cheapest way to produce electricity in the Middle East. There are some plants that are producing electricity for less than two cents per kilowatt-hour, which is way less than other sources of electricity like coal, gas, fuel, PV plants, or diesel. However, it is different for the C&I market because the solar plants developed by SirajPower are much smaller. The scale is a little different, but the company is capable of producing. As the owner of the facility, one can get energy from their own roof at a cost much cheaper than countries with unsubsidised tariffs. Laurent quoted the example of Dubai’s unsubsidised green tariff and said, “Today you can easily get electricity from your roof at the cost which can be from 30, 40 (or) up to 50 per cent less than the retail. So, it is a very significant saving. When you can get electricity for so cheap then there is no option... people will go solar for sure.” He mentioned that it is going to take time because of regulations, proper solutions, available financing, but eventually, the change towards solar will occur.

MOOLAH MATTERS The CEO compared the present situation to the condition of ground-mount utility-scale solar plants seven or eight years back. He mentioned that utility-scale solar plants were new to lenders, and getting some long-term debt was challenging back then. In 2012-13, when the first very large projects came, there were banks ready to engage in this direction. He claimed that looking at the last large utility-scale solar plant, currently, those banks gained access to over 80-90 per cent (profit) and, in some circumstances, the tenure of 25-30 years and a very attractive interest rate. This was achievable because solar is very reliable and predictable. Now the banks are keen on financing solar. Longuet mentioned, “For the C&I market, we are in a similar situation that probably we were for utility-scale six or seven years ago.” He added, “When you first go for C&I, you cannot finance projects by projects, you need to finance a portfolio of projects due to the size, and the risks are a bit different because you don't rely on the single client; you have multiple clients. You don't rely on utility to affect the power but on multiple industries or customers. So, the risks are different, but eventually, the approach is similar and… in the region in (the month of) July 2020, we have been able… to put in place a longterm recourse debt facility.” Citing discussions at COP26, he highlighted that other countries have decided to stop supporting or financing the development of coal, oil and gas projects. Stating France’s example, he said, “If you are a French bank, and you want to develop some energy project abroad, you cannot do it anymore for coal, oil and gas because you won't get the expert credit from the French government… Your alternative is to finance renewable energy… They will have to become more aggressive because they will love to develop their business in their region; they have no option. If they don't, they die. So they will do it, and it will benefit our industry.” “We have seen that one of our competitors recently made a significant announcement with the same bank for their portfolio in Dubai. Although they are our competitors, we take it very positively because it shows that it is becoming mainstream and if two of us have been capable (of) doing it, it means that we will be capable (of) repeating the same. It means that we will be capable of expanding to some other countries and eventually, it will become mainstream to access such kinds of debt financing. So, we are in this transition period where… We have demonstrated it is possible. The conditions are not yet as good as for utility-scale solar plants, but it is going in the right direction, and I believe it is going to be very fast before becoming mainstream.”

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SCOPE & ROADBLOCK

There is a high level of solar irrigation in the UAE where major consumption of electricity (70 per cent) is utilised through air conditioners. In this region, one can produce more during the day than during the night, implying that one can provide a lot of electricity when needed. This is not the same in other parts of the world. In the ME, we need electricity during the day when we could use it, and that is why the potential for the region is massive unlike countries in Europe with high demand in winter and at night. In terms of challenges, we are in a part of the world where production and distribution of electricity is very regulated, he said while adding, “We need these companies and this country to adopt some new regulations to a law for solar to be developed and to allow for companies like us to be put in a position to invest into solar... I think the main challenge is regulation and the positive thing is that it is being addressed, and it is... moving in the right direction in many countries in the region.”

CONCERNS WITH RESPECT TO: 1. Land: Given the regulation in the region, SirajPower produces electricity from the roof with the backing of their clients. In terms of land, the challenge is to find people with large roofs and large parking lots, who are interested in going solar. 2. Grid Connection: When the regulation was applied in January, it included the provisions on how to connect to the grid. He quoted, “If I take the example of Dubai, regulation is in place for solar, and it is very specific and detailed about how to connect to the grid. As a matter of fact, it is very effective because whenever we have companies interested in going solar, we find solutions to connect to the grid, and we are lucky in UAE, Saudi as well. The grid is available, it is strong, it is reliable, so we can find solutions.” 3. PPA: For the C&I, each client and system is different; therefore, the PPA and the contract signed with the clients are catered to their requirements. This is a challenge because it takes effort to adapt to the needs of the clients. However, SirajPower gets brownie points for its local approach as being a local company itself. It understands the client’s requirements and adapts.

AGGRESSIVE BIDDING: On being asked his views on aggressive bidding, Longuet replied, “It is definitely a challenge, but it is a good challenge to have because competition has helped in getting the price of electricity down over those past years, not only on the developer side but on the technologysupplier side. When you think about it, ten years ago, there were very few companies producing PV modules. The modules were extremely expensive... to the point that solar electricity was too expensive, and so the market was not there. Thanks to the competition, new players and training in this forte on the manufacturing of PV modules... The price has dramatically dropped… As a result, the market that was 10 years ago was a niche market. Today is the biggest market in terms of energy.” He explained a similar phenomenon on the developer side, claiming that the competition has pushed everyone to be more competitive by bringing new technologies (and) cheaper sources of financing. Eventually, all the efforts going in the same direction is to continue lowering the cost of electricity to make it more competitive. He concluded, “Aggressive bidding is there, but I take it very positively, and I am sure we will continue being more and more aggressive in the future.”

UAE NET ZERO BY 2050 Speaking on the attainability of UAE’s net zero by 2050 target, he nodded with an affirmative yes, saying, “I think, not only is it achievable but it will happen way before 2050... If you go 10 years back, nobody would have bet any dollar on the UAE having multi-gigawatts solar plants on the ground. Nobody would have bet a single dollar on the fact that renewable energy today has driven more investment in 2020 than any other commercials. So, the same will happen for years to come.”

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FEATURED He added, “I don't think we are figuring out what will come in terms of innovation. If you think, for instance, about electric vehicles, I have recently done the calculation… on the full life-cycle of a vehicle. Electric vehicles are now cheaper because they cost more to buy, but the fuel is very cheap. So, if you do the calculation of the other life of a car, it is cheaper. This means that (in) another two years you won't find any good reasons to go for a non-electric vehicle, which means that massively people will shift to EV and when they do, they will need more electricity. That is what we provide.” He believes that this will not be a linear change and won’t occur over the period of the next 20 or 30 years, but it will be fast and massive. This change will be driven by technology to develop, get electric vehicles, renewable energy even cheaper than today. However, this change would involve efforts from solar developers, banks, and regulators “to adapt the way to finance these developments.” He is optimistic given the momentum.

INCREASING AFFORDABILITY The value of this equipment has fluctuated a lot in the last 18 months. During the COVID crisis, the projects continued to build because the crisis was very well-managed in the region. The cost of material and equipment was dropping because the demand was reduced. Longuet explained, “We have been able to benefit from relatively lower prices in the post-COVID situation, (which) has led to unique situations where the cost of material, equipment and shipping have increased to the point where we have been in a situation where we are to redesign some projects... because the Capex increase was too high.” He added, “In terms of trends, it is difficult to predict… We strongly believe that in the mid-term sometime next year, we should be back in a more steady situation. We should continue to see in the long-term when this is back to normal.” There are a lot of new innovations coming that tend to improve the efficiency of the equipment and reduce their unique cost.

PERSONAL JOURNEY About 20 years ago, Longuet attended conferences and meetings with some scientists talking about climate change and its impact. He was working in the energy sector when he realised that it was time to start taking action and tackle this issue. So, he made a shift to clean energy to face this challenge, and that's how in 2010, he started effectively working in solar. He pursued this journey through his expertise in building and project management. He is driven by the desire to continue developing solar energy because a big part of our future and climate change issues will be about solar.

COMPANY & ITS STRENGTHS Set in 2015, SirajPower is a local business located in Dubai. What makes SirajPower unique is the sense that it is the only C&I developer in the region as a local company. 1. The CEO quoted, “We understand our clients. Most of them are like us, they are the local group. We are a long-term player, in a good position to serve them long-term "because when you go solar it is not for a year or two. It is for the long-term. It requires a significant investment, i.e. you save a lot of money, but you save a lot of money as long as you are ready to commit to the long-term. So, that is one element which makes us unique.” 2. It has established industrial capabilities on the ground in the UAE. Making it not only a developer and an investor but also a contractor and service provider. The company has integrated the scope that goes from development path to construction, financing, operation, and finally to asset management. It is the only company in the region that has a full capacity under the same umbrella. 3. Largest portfolio in the region with almost 200 solar systems and operations. He said, “We have experience, expertise and capabilities. It is essential for a lot of clients to make sure that they go solar with a company having the necessary skill and expertise to deal with projects in the long term.”

Interview By

Aishwarya Puranik Journalist (ME & APAC Region), EQ Magazine

ME&A JANUARY 2022

www.EQ-MEA.com

ME&A JANUARY 2022

FEATURED

‘Declaring Grid Independence’ with Solar Energy amidst Lebanese Power Crisis As the power crisis in Lebanon continues, electricity remains a luxury for some. The lack of imports and high demand for fuel has caused fuel shortages and forced the Lebanese government to first reduce and then remove fuel subsidies resulting in the failure of public power generation. With Électricité du Liban (Electricity Corporation of Lebanon) or EDL decreasing power supply to almost two hours a day and even completely shutting off the power in some areas, the availability of electricity is a priority for Lebanese citizens, who have to find a solution for themselves. Private user generators that used to cover the gap in public utility grid-supplied power are now struggling to cover the gap and provide more than 22 hours of autonomous power supply. Adding to this is the health and environmental risk that the use of diesel generators to generate power can exert and cannot be overlooked.

ccording to Rachelle Kassouf, Director Engineering at Green Essence, solar PV technology includes highly efficient banners and smart multi-function inverters and seems ready to compensate for the lack of fuel in a country rich in solar energy. The annual average solar radiation in Lebanon ranges between 1000 and 1500 kilowatt-hour per meter square per year to 2000 kilowatt-hour per meter square per year. Solar PV systems could generate more than 4500 kWh per year for Lebanese residents. The use of a micro-grid solar PV system will allow Lebanese citizens to declare their grid independence and run loads from solar energy and battery storage. This will provide energy savings when the grid is up, along with off-grid independence and security when it is down or compromised.

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While Kassouf talked about the landscape of opportunities for solar energy in Lebanon, she also mentioned some drawbacks to it. Regardless of the growing interest, high cost and shortage of PV system equipment are setbacks to PV installation. Due to high demands, sourcing of necessary components is getting difficult; and clients have to wait around eight weeks for system installation. In a webinar conducted on “Outlook for Lebanon Solar Energy – Opportunities and Challenges” by EQ Magazine, Hadi Abou Moussa, Energy Engineer at Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC), added to the moderator Ms. Kassouf’s opinion. He eloquently introduced national policies, incentives, and schemes that created momentum for solar energy in Lebanon. He also explained where the journey of solar energy in Lebanon began. www.EQ-MEA.com

FEATURED Published by the NCC, the first National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) was planned in 2011 and adopted by the then government. This led to energy generation from renewable energy sources to be met by 2020. The second NEEAP was published in 2016 parallel to the national renewable energy, where targets of each source of renewable energy like hydro power plants, windmills, solar PV, solar systems, centralized and decentralized were defined. Recently, the renewable energy plan for Lebanon prepared by IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) was published, and a new target was set. A target being 30 per cent electricity generation of that generated in 2013 to be from human energy sources. This, along with many finance mechanisms like low-interest loans, grants from the EU, and the scheme applied by the EDL maximizing the benefits from energy generation through solid business systems created momentum in the solar market. In 2011, there were 330-kilowatt gigs installed; however, by the end of 2020, there were almost 90 megawatts stored. Due to the decentralized market by the end of 2020, there were almost 90 megawatts totaling impressions of 130 million dollars with 12 per cent of these systems for around 11 megawatts world systems. The prices of these systems fell drastically in the last ten years due to proper storage for batteries and the rest of the systems. For a system with storage in 2012, a unit cost was 6.4 dollars per watt in comparison to 1.7 dollars in 2020 for a system with a storage price of 3.7 dollars. From 2012 to the end of 2020, this price fell to around 0.7 dollars per watch bill. Moussa explained, the residential sector in Lebanon presents around 12 per cent of total restored capacity, 20 per cent of the total investments, and 54 per cent of the total number of installed projects implying a high demand for this sector. In the residential sector, projects offering smaller than ten kilowatts are preferred. By the end of 2019, seven per cent of the total installed projects with a size less than ten kilowatts, constituting 14 per cent of the total investment in the sector. Presently, these numbers are much higher because of the electricity crisis. One of the main challenges is how to quantify this increase because there are many players in the market and not just the traditional or known ones.

“For solar field, we have the 180-megawatt solar plant, which is currently in the negotiation phase before licensing, and the 300-megawatt solar farms or palms plus 150 megawatts and 300-megawatt tower storage that is currently in the pipeline and it is under structuring and the standard preparation.” Hadi Abou Moussa on utility-scale project

The panel also voiced their opinion on the future of the solar sector in Lebanon. They discussed the future prospects of solar, other renewable and non-renewable energy in Lebanon. Upon being asked Joe Hawi, Managing Director at Nova Energia, predicted, “The new government will be focused on creating the legal infrastructure like they did in Jordan with wheeling agreements or peer-to-peer energy sales, the de-monopolization of EDL...” He mentioned, “One good thing (is) that the purchase of fuel to Lebanon has been de-monopolized... which means that the group of people that were benefiting from this, now do not have the sole proprietorship of this supply. So, this will unlock the market and will open the way for some legal changes.” He added, “The market will introduce players that have a keen interest in capitalizing an opportunity and when that happens we will see... municipality level projects, some commercial (and) industrial level projects, some neighborhood-level projects, and community level projects, and that will be again a huge multi-hundred megawatt scope… (In) the next year and a half or two it is going to be a lot of three kilowatts, four kilowatts, two to ten-kilowatts projects and these are going to dominate.” On being asked to predict development in the next five to ten years, Moussa said, “In the last five years in 2016, we had around 24 megawatt installed and decentralized solar systems, and now it is around 90… by the end of 2020, it was around 94… Of course, the current crisis has shifted the market towards more residential and small-scale systems, but we have a more optimistic point of view...” While answering a question about code for PV installation during the panel discussion, Hadi explained, “There isn’t a code… (But) there are best practices regarding the sizing, the protection device needs, also the lightning protection and the earthing systems that should be available with any system. For standards, there are many references… To conclude, there isn’t a standard PV installation for Lebanon, but there are a lot of… best practices and guidelines that can help anyone.” Interview By

Aishwarya Puranik Journalist (ME & APAC Region), EQ Magazine

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The battery storage it self is where the next trend will be Claimed Faris Abuyaghi, Sales Director Solar PV Inverters – MEA Region HUAWEI in an interview with EQ International Magazine. In this interview, the interviewee discussed communication technology, IOT, AI, technology requirements for the future, string inverters, battery storage, challenges and opportunities in the MEA and more... Huawei has been leading the solar market across the globe. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) noted that Huawei is amongst the top brands in Asia in terms of financing in its “Solar Module & Inverter Bankability 2019” report. Proliferating its existence, the company has made a mark for itself in the middle east as well. To discuss the plans of the company and technological roadmap for the company, Team EQ was joined by Faris AbuYaghi, Sales Director Solar PV Inverters, Huawei Technologies (Middle East & Africa Region). Opening up on Huawei’s plan for advanced hybrid power, Abuyaghi mentioned that the R&D department is working on a hybrid solution that is more adaptable towards using diesel generators, battery, diesel and coupling with other resources of wind or others. He further stated, “Probably the base will also be a battery where you could shift the power without actually having internal interruptions in that sense. I believe the battery storage itself is where the next trend will be,” signaling towards more manufacturing in this area.

TECHNICAL

AI, Self-learning & Future Plans:

Huawei is leading the industry with its communication, IOT, and artificial intelligence (AI). Talking about the application of these expertise, Faris highlighted how it helps Huawei standout. From the product point of view, the company tries to integrate the product, tweaking it and making it something that the industry follows. He said, “We focused on the string inverter, we made multiple string inverters where we took out the fuses, now, we are trying to move away from just the product and looking into the solution… We (now) added the battery storage solution and

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have both utility and residential battery solutions, where we are innovating and connecting to the different markets.” In the future, the company has a product in the pipeline with a manufacturer using AI capable of collecting data and selflearning. Huawei is also looking into micro-grids, utility power used by telecom industries, and EV chargers.

Need of the Hour: 1. To make a solution smarter, it is imperative to have it sensing, claimed Abuyaghi. Further stating, if it senses, it collects information and then responds, this is called self-learning. With respect to PV plants, inverter self-learning involves interacting with the tracker to enhance it. 2. Envisioning the future with more solar penetration, he believes there will be lower chances of short-circuit, which will affect the grid. Therefore, there is a need to make it more grid-friendly. 3. Talking about the communication, it should be able to update all this information to the products in the field. It can be done either through 5G or through normal networking but the inverter has to be updated. 4. While talking about Operations and Management (O&M), there will be drones or a product like an IV scanner. Having an automated IV scan where 100 MW will take about 30 to 60 days for the same work but with new technology of IV scan you could do it within 30 minutes. 5. Talking about the company’s developing technologies, he mentioned developing these things where you could detect hotspots. If we take AI into the residential field there is an arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) (the spark that happens in the inverter or in the cables). The AI implemented in the inverters will enable it to shut off before causing a fire. 6. Further talking about the energy storage system (ESS), having a more integrated storage solution with the PV will be crucial for seamless working. It will create a timetable in your phone for your house, let’s say for use of the washing machine at a certain point of time, that is when the power will be needed and work accordingly. This way you can integrate your system and have a smart house.

Huawei’s History With String Inverter Being the pioneers of string inverter technology, Huawei placed its bet on the string inverter in 2013, he said, “If you see the market, string inverters dominate 60 per cent of the market now. It seems like it will keep growing. (It is) easy to install (and has) lower LCOE, people want something they could fix, which reduces O&M by 50 degrees. So, it is installed on residential (and) commercial, it is a more adaptable solution.” While giving his insights on best technology solutions for optimizing the power generation in the region, Faris stated, “String inverter with multiple MPVTs, helps no matter where the direction of the modules take place to increase the generation.” The inverters use AI application along with AFCI, which could shut down any spark enhancing safety. Optimiser launched last year has seen a lot of interest. Optimisation can be done on the string level rather than on module level. If something happens one could estimate regenerate between 10 and 30 per cent additional generation versus what could have been without the optimiser.

Industry Trends On the industry trends, he commented that the future lies in a more connected network, between energy from renewable sources like solar and wind, and powering green hydrogen. He added that looking at the data centers, everything is going to be smarter, and more about electronic or information computing as a huge part of renewable energy. If one is not able to generate the power but even lower the consumption of these powers, they are saving. Looking into the EV chargers, look at the distance the battery could go for and how fast will this battery charge. One could also look at raw materials of the batteries or what is the future battery calculation, how could you charge it for longer distances and more.

Island System:

Considering the idea of an island system where the house does not need electric connection, Faris mentioned two solutions: Grid-tied inverter using a grid-tied battery; and off-grid inverter using an offgrid battery.

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FEATURED It depends on the solution and geography. He added, “Let's say you use it in Germany, it is a good type solution because there is always electricity and you are just shifting the power during the day and night or higher tariffs. Whereas, for Lebanon, with electricity cut-off, there is a requirement of energy from solar to charge the battery or diesel and then offloading completely off-grid.”

DISTINCTIVE ADVANTAGE: R&D Explaining the strengths of Huawei, Abuyaghi mentioned that the company is a big player in ICT (information and communications technology) and evolving technologies. Huawei has 2,00,000 people working for them. The distinctive advantage that the company enjoys is the allocation of 55% of this workforce in Research and Development (R&D), it has 12 different centers of the inverter business or the digital power business. Abuyaghi stated, “If you look at the last ten years, we have spent about $100Bn in R&D, not only for digital power but as a company. So, that gives us an advantage in the purchasing of our following new technologies and having the capability of innovating.”

CHALLENGES Roadblocks:

Pointing out the challenges of PV becoming the main energy source, he said it is the logistics, component prices and the market itself. He added, “Being the innovative party in the market is also challenging because you are also going into new territories where no one has been... So you are always in the beginning trying to fight the regulations... Seeing how to make things better or more adapted to that kind of situation. If you look at the modules, they have shifted from 1000 to 1500. There was a lot of push-back and now we are trying to take the whole system to a whole different level.” In the middle east there are less regulations on certain technologies for the data centers. It enables the supply of containerised data centers, where you can build them faster, operate at a lower price and save an OpEx. Whereas, if this is emulated in Europe, equipment building will take thrice as much time and more money to operate, although providing regulatory immunity. This might hinder the growth of digital power companies.

Pricing:

Commenting on the fluctuating prices of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese,

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Abuyaghi believed that it will affect the industry to a certain extent. However, many suppliers have long-term or yearly con tracts with the manufacturers and they can absorb some part of the costing through that source. When this contract ends, depending on it, it will obviously increase the prices. Besides he also mentioned, “When you tracts with the manufacturers and they can absorb some part of the costing through that source. When this contract ends, depending on it, it will obviously increase the prices. Besides he also mentioned, “When you

MARKET OUTLOOK IN THE ME FOR 2022 Breaking the market in three areas we get residential, C&I and distributed market, and utility. For utility there are three giants Saudi Arabia (biggest tenders coming), UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), and then Oman. Rest of the countries are doing smaller tenders in the area. Countries like Jordan, Palestine, and Oman are doing well in residential projects. To attract people, countries hungry for energy with high tariffs are required. Market is said to grow depending on two things, regulations and higher prices of electricity. If regulations allow people to install, they will do it. The increase in prices of electricity or the need to avoid subsidizing electricity should be a priority for growth. Upcoming Launches : Speaking on Huawei’s current product basket for on-grid inverters Faris revealed full product room from single-phase inverter, three phase small inverters, utility scale inverters. The company is also planning to enter the optimiser market and own optimisers for 400 and 600 Watts. Talking of batteries, he spoke about plug and play batteries. This will mean that to the five kilowatts battery one can add ten or 15 KW making it a dynamic way of installation. For inverters there is an architecture where the new inverter is split in half for utility scale projects. This mechanism will enable to increase the yield while reducing the CapEx by saving the BOS cost. For the upcoming product lines Huawei has launched an off-grid solution. He said, “This off-grid solution comes all the way from a small box which you could take to camping... to C&I powering the whole office using off-grid.” Huawei is looking into microgrids applications too, a very customisable application. He added, “So, Huawei's strength is that we perfect one product and mass produce it.”

Noteworthy Projects: : Stating the notable energy storage solutions by Huawei in the middle east, he named the Red Sea project, developed by Aquapower. It is said to utilize about 400 MW of PV and 1300 MW of energy storage and it is the largest project globally. Prior to this, it was Tesla that built 200 MW in Australia and now the situation has shifted to six times bigger than that. He added, “The unique part of this project was that it was a smart city that was off-grid.” It required a special grid supporting islanding to operate in a harsh environment. There was also a need for cooling solutions as well as the grids. To make it happen was very challenging, claimed Faris saying that it is going to be like the Maldives, where there are multiple islands and big reservoirs. In the PV forte he mentioned that there are hundreds of medium size projects. “My favorite was (the one) with KitKat and Yellow Door. The Khaka Project, Huawei’s first utility project in the region was also noted. Speaking of the hybrid projects, DEWA 400 CSP project was also listed where almost 400 MG of PV was used to support auxiliary power. He further mentioned the upcoming desalination projects, where solar power will be used to do the auxiliary power for the desalination. With 44 countries deciding to go carbon neutral, the company decided to separate digital power from Huawei and make it its own separate entity like solar and battery. Now, there are data centers, cars, side powers, and components. This provides a unique advantage of bringing the power electronics experience into digitisation and lowering carbon emission overall. He concluded, “If you make anything smarter, it will actually benefit everyone to the maximum point.”

Interview By

Aishwarya Puranik Journalist (ME & APAC Region), EQ Magazine

ME&A JANUARY 2022

FEATURED

'ME' to Sustain

Energy Supremacy T hrough RE In 2012, oil and gas revenues for the middle east was $1 trillion but it reached $400 billion in the last one year. Reduction of consumption of fossil fuel based energy, resulted in lesser production and fall in the prices. The reason could be stated as the adoption of renewables. With the emergence of renewable energy it is predicted that hydrogen will be the future of renewable energy. It is also said to replace the electric and non-electric industry (for example, transportation like trains, planes, ships and cars). From oil and gas to renewable to hydrogen, this process will mark the transition in the Middle east, claims Shaji John, Vice President & Head Business Development, Larsen & Toubro Limited. He believes that even if it is a difficult time because of module pricing there is a bright future for the industry.

Powering RE in Middle East: Discussing segments that will open avenues for the renewable sector up to 60 GW or more in the next 5-10 years, John stated: 1. The transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy. 2. Development of new cities like Red Sea city will demand renewable energy. 3. Huge market for green hydrogen. Shaji also mentioned that 60-65 per cent of green hydrogen is renewable. If one is able to drive down renewable costs, the hydrogen that is at $4 or $5 per kg might come down to $1-2 per kg. This will help in competing with grey and blue hydrogen.

Advantages of the Middle East: The middle east is blessed with radiation of about 2000-2500 KWh/metre square. As much as 4-5 per cent of land from the region can power the whole world, such is the potential of the region. It is

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also supported by the evacuation, especially the GCC grid from Kuwait to Oman. Besides radiation, another advantage of the geography is the connectivity to the ports. Since the Middle East is situated in the centre of the world, it has better connectivity and makes the transportation easy and efficient. These factors give an upper edge to the region, claims John

Challenges Faced by Developers: Existence of lowest tariff and the basic need to deliver projects of high quality is one of the major challenges in the region. On the top of it, managing high performing assets in those price targets is another hurdle according to Manish Singhal, Director - Solar PV Solutions, ACWA Power. The unavailability of skilled labourers controlled by various visa regimes and travel restrictions in the last two years are some of the reasons that stand in the way of a prosperous future.

Trends in Utility PV Solar Projects for Inverters:

Adding to this he said that the trend is headed towards lower prices even if not at the same pace due to the global pandemic. Due to economic slowdown induced by coronavirus, most of the projects were delayed, reducing the demand of modules and therefore manufacturers and suppliers were willing to provide everything at competitive cost. With these new trends and rising demand the market becomes difficult, and the supply and demand needs some time to adjust and find some clarity.

Future Risk Management: While talking about the future threats Miguel Angel Escribano Del Rey, Director, Global Sales - Solar, Bureau Veritas Group mentioned cybersecurity as a rising concern. He elaborated that there is a need for awareness regarding the issue. It is imperative to understand that power generation assets are being talked about. Giving a solution to it, he announced one of their recent services in their portfolio to deal with this threat.

Faris: As manufacturers it is a trend to adapt to the needs of different people in the market. To achieve this, one must look into the architecture of inverters and make it localised or better for developers to purchase.

Module Pricing:

“We believe that in the second half of this year we may see some reduction in prices and this is based on the current supply and demand, and the current price of raw material. By the second half of the year, the new production of polysilicon and all the raw materials will be available. If those production lines start producing more raw material, we will be able to benefit from bigger supply and therefore, supply and demand will find an equilibrium then...” stated Gonzalo Bonelo, Middle East Area Manager, LONGI Solar.

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FEATURED Scenario of Trackers: In the harsh environment it is crucial to understand the requirements. Alvaro Casado Portuondo, M.D. Middle East, PV Hardware explained that their organisation uses HPG and alloys for the tracking system. The company has alliances with skilled suppliers to enable good work and provide the warranties required to support this extreme environment. With the experience they have (3GW), there is an understanding of the effect of extreme weather. Therefore, this tracker company focuses on having reliable technology to be used on site.

Improving Performance of Tracking System: To do so work on ways to integrate the inverter into the tracking system to use the inverter are underway. Perhaps attempts to integrate the controller on the tracking system to reduce the pricing are also made. Alvaro claims that big areas are difficult to optimise, so whatever is developed is their own tracking system. This is done to make sure that the trackers perform the most precise back tracking. It also takes into account the specific location of every single tracker. This algorithm helps optimise even large areas in one go.

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The conversation concluded on the promises of a bright future for renewable energy in the middle east region.

Future of the middle east holds energy dominance through investments in renewable energy, discuss RE Leaders in an EQ webinar sponsored by L&T and Huawei

Interview By

Aishwarya Puranik Journalist (ME & APAC Region), EQ Magazine

ME&A JANUARY 2022

FEATURED

ROADMAP FOR

SUSTAINABLE

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

KPMG ENRich 2021 Report highlighted the urgency of actions against climate change by the corporates and the need energy transition

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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FEATURED

In an attempt to curb climate change, there is an urgent need for a global approach towards tackling this crisis. Whilst efforts at policy level are done by many governments, a report by KPMG, India finds that the global corporations too need to make a joint effort to combat climate change. It strongly backs the idea that corporations need to step out of token climate-consciousness and take substantial measures to bring change. Global temperature prognosis suggests 2.3 degrees increase in global temperature by the end of this century if there is a lack of global effort to avoid it. The 1.5 degrees goal for containment of global heating was committed in COP26. To achieve this there is a demand for energy transition especially in reaching Net Zero. The report titled ‘Decarbonisation and the evolving role of corporate boards’ was presented on the sidelines of the 12th edition of its annual energy and natural resources event ‘ENRich 2021’. The report highlights how corporate boards should up their game to meet the challenges of the carbon constrained world and meet their net-zero targets.

in the energy sector are changing, and companies should balance their investments across technology portfolios. The pathway to achieving 1.5 degrees requires urgent action to halve the current emissions by 2030. With respect to risk for business and energy CEOs, corporate leadership recognises climate change as a major risk. According to the report, 81 per cent of the organizations are actively disrupting the sector in which they operate rather than waiting to be disrupted by competitors. Whereas, 85 per cent see technological disruption as more of an opportunity than threat. Globally, investors are increasingly committing to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects into their investment strategy as evidenced by growth in signatories for ‘Principles for Responsible Investment’ (PRI). In addition, the majority of institutional investors consider climate change to be a key factor influencing their investment decision.

the implementation of energy transition. Setting clear goals backed by the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that meet business and regulatory needs is crucial for credibility. Technology and other ESG related KPIs will be a key enabler in the decarbonisation journey.

• Corporate boards have initiated measures for driving board level governance for climate change. The adoption of such measures, however, remains low for Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) companies compared to other sectors.

Organizational culture and performance metrics • Maintaining and enhancing climate competence within the board as well as within the organization • Translating commitments into material changes move beyond tokenism • Risk and opportunity assessment • Disclosures and compliance

It further discusses the imperatives of decarbonisation highlighting the requirement of a system perspective that incorporates energy demand management, improves energy efficiency, new reporting standards and increases the share of clean energy in the overall energy mix.

• New reporting standards set by World Economic Forum in association with key leading professional services firms, have reformed stringent metrics which will support in evaluating SDG’s performance and associated NDCs.

Key highlights of the report are stated below:

Impact of climate change on businesses:

• Climate responses towards actionable goals have been slow. Although governments, financing institutions, and industry participants are forming alliances to focus on stronger actions. However, the pace of energy transition has been sluggish. Globally, the investment dynamics

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Corporates are likely to be the principal delivery agents of decarbonization. In that aspect, strategic investment decisions should be backed by data driven analysis with a whole system view. To suit regional priorities in the short-term and long-term, corporations should tailor

Approaching the challenge: • Boards have to ensure that sustainability and climate aspects are brought into dayto-day operations by integrating sustainability and non-financial targets into the existing incentive structure

• Organizations need to do more than what

the regulation demands and move beyond compliance • Boards have to set very clear directions to guide thought and action at every level. To ensure that the guidance is indeed being followed, boards need to find ways to maintain regular dialogue with peers and key stakeholders. • Boards leadership will involve many dimensions:

• Investment planning and technology selection For corporations in pursuit of energy transition, the focus has to move to ‘climate proofing’ of businesses, and hardening of systems has to increase substantially, given the limitations of current climate mitigation actions. Investments should also take into account long-term carbon costs and aspects like Carbon Taxes/Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Despite challenges and uncertainties there is a very significant opportunity in funding the energy transition

ME&A JANUARY 2022

FEATURED

Solving Power Crisis with

Solar : Case Study of

Lebanon

ME&A JANUARY 2022

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he lack of fuel for power stations or diesel for private diesel Gensets has caused severe power outages. These power outages seem to have paralyzed Lebanon and resulted in a crisis situation where businesses are struggling to survive and hospitals are pushed to capacity. Mohamad Mneimneh, Business Development Manager at Mashriq Energy (Lebanon), identified "decades of built-up losses for the national electric utility (EDL)" as the reason behind this debacle. In a webinar conducted by EQ Magazine on 'Outlook for Lebanon Solar Energy - Op portunities and Challenges', Mneimneh reasoned how power outages are paralyzing Lebanon, the reasons behind it, and a way forward. Ever since the Electricité du Liban (Electricity of Lebanon) or EDL has been subsidized, it has been in loss and is rapidly using the foreign reserve, he added. This was further aggravated by the October 2019 financial crisis. He said, “This problem is (an) energy problem, and the solution is also (an) energy solution,” calling out the energy crisis as a political issue. He added Lebanon is resistant to the idea of importing electricity from Jordan and Egypt (which has 2-3 GW of electricity surplus) The $800 million annual deficit of EDL and the fact that citizens in Beirut face daily power outages of at least 20 hours are all reminders of the urgent need for immediate action. To counter this problem, the potential of abundant natural resources (water, wind, and sun) in Lebanon needs to be recognized. As a result, a possible alternative can be the exploration of renewable energy sources such as solar energy. It will not only have environmental benefits but also economic advantages and bring down dependence on fossil fuels. This change can shield Lebanon from changing energy market trends and ensure stability, providing a political advantage.

FEATURED In Lebanon, the adoption of solar energy to the national grid would significantly contribute to the growth of clean energy since the country has around 3000 hours of sunlight per year and GHI (Global Horizontal Irradiation) of 2000 kWh/m2/year. Solar is intriguing to the Lebanese market as it has diverse applications and low maintenance costs. It is a renewable source of energy that reduces electricity bills and has evolving technology supporting its growth. Although solar offers great prospects in Lebanon, there are some challenges to this energy resource too, like high initial CAPEX (capital expenditure), expensive energy storage, lack of regulation, and standardization. Investment in solar energy is a risky investment and is subject to change because of policies that do not allow captive generation in Lebanon. This instability gets the investors nervous. Another barrier is population clusters in the cities. Solar installation requires space; however, due to the high population concentration in cities, there is very little space to facilitate solar installations. To conclude, according to Lebanon’s geographical and meteorological landscape, renewable energy is a viable power source. Although, there is a need to address the political hurdles first. While solar PV cannot completely solve Lebanon’s electricity problems, it can contribute to economic growth, significantly boost the country’s energy independence, and reduce pollution levels. Solar energy, along with other energy sources, can ensure a 24/7 supply of electricity. This will significantly bring the price of electricity up, reducing EDL’s deficit.

Article Prepared by

Aishwarya Puranik

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ME&A JANUARY 2022