Beyond low MENA tenders – 01-2019
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Final Thoughts: MESIA’s 2019 Solar Outlook Report
This month, at the annual WFES, the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) releases its annual publication, the Solar Outlook Report. We publish this report to update our audience on the recent developments in MENA’s leading solar markets and provide an understanding of the trends that will shape these markets. This year, we paid […]
Jan 15, 2019
On the Road
Where we’ve been – Energaïa: Montpellier, France France’s leading renewable energy event had two important missions this year: (i) build on the success of the 2017 event by further growing the presence of the solar PV industry; and (ii) provide a clear road map for solar, and other renewables, to transform the country’s energy […]
Jan 15, 2019
48 hours in… Masdar City
As Abu Dhabi’s flagship sustainable urban community, Masdar City is a place where sustainability is a way of life. Since breaking ground in 2008, the low carbon development has transformed into a rapidly growing clean tech cluster, business free zone, and residential neighborhood, complete with shops, restaurants, and public green spaces that allow visitors, residents, and workers to live, work, and play sustainably.
Jan 15, 2019
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A smarter way to charge electric vehicles
It seems that almost every day, there is another big announcement relating to electric vehicles (EVs) and how we are going to charge them. Delta-ee Principal Analyst John Murray examines the ins and outs of different business models proposed for the future of EV charging and its relationship to the energy system.
Jan 15, 2019
Why are we not making the most out of big data analysis?
Although the solar industry still sees itself as young and fancy, its assets are aging. Asset owners still seem to struggle with the complexity of making the best use of big data analysis to improve efficiency and profitability of their plants. Ragna Schmidt-Haupt of Everoze examines why this has not changed much, and what can or should be improved. Artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics, automated assessments, and smart monitoring software: Holistic solar asset management starts here.
Jan 15, 2019
Longi’s monolithic leadership
Longi occupies a space that is unique among the solar manufacturers active today. To describe the company, it is natural to use superlatives: the largest mono wafer maker in the world (37% market share), the fastest-growing solar manufacturer, and the company with the highest R&D spending globally, both in absolute terms and also as a portion of its revenues.
Jan 15, 2019
From solar to gas
The opportunities for power-to-gas have long interested the solar community, but large-scale projects have been exceptionally rare. Outgoing CEO of SolarPower Europe James Watson has presided over a transformative period at the organization, and has departed this month to head up Eurogas – right at the point the region’s solar sector is set for revival. Advancing a power-to-gas agenda, Watson says, will be a big part of his new challenge.
Jan 15, 2019
Opportunity in diversity
MENA countries have made significant strides in recent years in the fostering of both large-scale and distributed solar market segments. However, some investors and developers may turn elsewhere for opportunities if there remains a predominance of large utility-scale projects dominated by a small number of players, writes Iwan Walters, a partner in the corporate practice of Eversheds Sutherland.
Jan 15, 2019
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Founded in 2008, and until this year known as the Zayed Future Energy Prize, the Zayed Sustainability Prize recognizes leaders and innovators across the field of sustainability, through funding from the Abu Dhabi government. The award will be bestowed at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi on January 14, 2019.
Jan 15, 2019
MENA’s untapped potential
The climate, developing economy, and rapid demographic growth are leading to increased electricity demand in the MENA region. However, as a hub of conventional energy supply, it has been slow to embrace PV. To capture more of the value chain and deliver the full potential of solar PV, there are increasing calls for distributed generation deployment to play a much more prominent role.
Jan 15, 2019
Towering utility bills drive C&I tracker market
The growing market for tracker-mounted solar within the U.S. commercial and industrial market is being driven squarely by mammoth utility bills that often include time-of-use charges and total demand charges. Single-axis and double-axis systems are being deployed on warehouses, at agricultural facilities, factories, mines, landfills, carports, and other sites, often with a payback of only a few years, equipment sellers say.
Jan 15, 2019
Delaying derating
High solar irradiance and few cloudy days are ideal for solar. Fine dust and extreme heat is not – particularly when it comes to power electronics. As the distributed generation market segment emerges in the region, it’s a challenge that inverter suppliers are grappling with.
Jan 15, 2019
Middle East Solar Awards
This year’s Middle East Solar Awards, given by the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) will take place Wednesday, January 16 at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi. The MESIA awards, now in their seventh year, are focused on the MENA region.
Jan 15, 2019
Double glass can spell double trouble
Glass-glass modules are built to survive the toughest conditions and can deliver module lifetimes far exceeding the 20-30 years expected of glass-foil. The module concept is ideally positioned to catch the building bifacial wave, but only if quality concerns are addressed, warn some experts in the field.
Jan 15, 2019
Bifacial testing sites multiply
Bifacial solar panel performance has become such a hot pursuit this year that there are now at least four competing field test sites ramping up in the United States, each matching a different set of trackers and panels. The four test projects include DNV GL, Soltec, NREL and Sandia, and initial data is expected by late 2019, once a year’s data has been collected.
Jan 15, 2019
Sweet sweep
The amount and nature of desert dust determines whether daily cleaning of solar modules is a favorable option. However, frequent and water-intensive cleaning, as well as the amount of labor required, can be costly in desert installations. But the ingenuity of automation is on its way to help.
Jan 15, 2019
Outlook for n-type
Among n-type manufacturers, SunPower, Panasonic, and LG had the leading roles in interdigitated back contact (IBC), heterojunction (HJT), and tunnel oxidized passivated contact (TOPCon), respectively. But Chinese cells with low cost and high efficiency trends have been on the rise. In the future expansion of n-type production lines, the power of Chinese cell manufacturers and equipment makers can’t be underestimated.
Jan 15, 2019
Tender reassurance
Walking along Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Residence area in 2013, there was a sign that read: “Keep Calm, We Still Have Oil.” Despite the United Arab Emirates (UAE) kick-starting the region’s first commercial solar power project only five years earlier, the country remained focused on its black gold – as did its neighbors.
Jan 15, 2019
The game goes on
If you want to talk to manufacturers about module prices for 2019 – to submit a binding tender offer, perhaps – prepare to be disappointed. No one knows where the market is headed yet, which is why no one really wants to commit themselves – in other words, planning security is still trending towards zero
Jan 15, 2019
MENA PV additions quadrupled in 2018
As anticipated, 2018 was a pivotal year for PV installations in Middle East and North Africa, writes Josefin Berg, Research and Analysis Manager at IHS Markit. Our end-of-year estimates show that approximately 3.6 GW of PV systems were installed in the region in 2018, compared to less than 1 GW in 2017.
Jan 15, 2019
Reflections on a soiled module
Having quickly proven their performance boosting potential and durability, anti-reflective coatings are now found on the majority of modules rolling off the world’s production lines. Today, coating suppliers are looking to tackle losses from soiling as well as reflection, and working to keep up with cost reductions and extended lifetime expectations at module level. Older modules, installed without a coating, could also be set to benefit from their latest innovations.
Jan 15, 2019
Bright ideas and future
The words of outgoing CEO of SolarPower Europe, James Watson (pp. 26-27) should provide a skip to any solar professional’s step as another year commences in the fast-paced PV business. Solar is, in Watson’s words, “full of optimists, and it is full of innovative and very bright people.” And who am I to disagree? However, each new year brings familiar cycles of challenges, hope, disappointments, and sometimes even regrets.
Jan 15, 2019
