Middle East

With the acquisition of Spectrum International, Amarenco Group strengthens its presence in the Middle East and North Africa, where it is aiming for 200 MW.

The UAE is expected to generate 25% of its electricity from solar energy and have a total installed solar capacity of 44 GW by 2050. The Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) describes the challenges the country has to address to make this target achievable.

Brenmiller secured a €7.5 million ($8.2 million) credit facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to build the factory.

The Turkish authorities have set a 10-year feed-in tariff (FIT) of TRY 1.06 ($0.0545)/kWh for PV systems that are installed between July 1, 2021, and December 31, 2030. Solar projects with Turkish PV components will be given an additional five-year tariff of TRY 0.2880/kWh.

Oman Water and Wastewater Services Company has identified an area of 65,500 m2 for a solar project in Muscat Governorate. Interested developers have until May 4 to submit their proposals.

An international research team has fabricated a quasi-2D perovskite solar cell with a special kind of phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI) salt to enhance hole extraction. The result is a 23.08%-efficient device that is also able to retain 95% of its initial efficiency after 900 hours.

Teralight has started building what will be Israel’s largest solar park. The Ta’anach PV project will have an installed capacity of 250 MW and include 550 MWh of storage. It is located in the Jezreel Valley, northern Israel, and will start operations in the first half of 2024.

The Electricity Authority of Israel has decided to regulate the connection of energy storage systems to low-voltage PV plants with capacities of up to 630 kW. It is introducing a supplementary tariff for PV and storage facilities that share single metered connection points to the grid, in order to reduce bottlenecks on the grid.

A Jordanian research team has designed a cleaning technique for solar modules that uses static electricity to remove dust from panel surfaces. The system features an electrostatic ionizer that reduces attraction between dust particles and their accumulation on modules, improving their energy yield.

Turkey has approved the first batch of renewables-plus-storage projects since it enacted new rules for storage in November.