New renewables cheaper than legacy coal or gas for almost half the world’s population
Electricity bill payers in nations as diverse as Germany, Greece, India and China should be aware new solar projects can now generate electricity cheaper for them than legacy coal and gas-fired plants.
Strong growth predicted for Middle Eastern solar PV
The Middle East, and the Gulf in particular, has been home to record low solar tariffs in recent years. Major projects are being awarded via tenders, with prices gradually closing in on a remarkable 1 USDct/kWh. Of course, this is no coincidence due to the region’s favorable solar conditions: availability of cheap and sunny desert land, low labor costs, cheap project financing, supportive tax regimes, large projects benefitting from economies of scale, well designed tender structures, and decreasing PV component prices.
‘Low-cost renewable hydrogen may already be in reach’
If the three record-busting low solar price tariffs recorded in the Middle East in the past 18 months are to be believed, renewables-powered hydrogen in prime sites in the region could already compete with gas-plus-CCS production, according to IRENA. Has the Gulf discovered the new petrol?
Phase V of Dubai solar park to take shape before Phase IV
Utility DEWA has announced the first 300 MW of the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will be commissioned next month, with the first stage of the fourth phase due to arrive two months later.
Mammoth Dubai solar park set to power water pumping station
The new facility is expected to be connected to the emirate’s water network this month.
Dubai Solar Show will be held as part of World Expo
The trade show will be held from October 5-7 under the auspices of the Covid-delayed global trade fair.
Abu Dhabi deepens investment in Uzbekistani solar
Masdar’s latest, 400 MW solar project win followed hot on the heels of the award of the contract to develop a 457 MW solar field elsewhere in the central Asian nation.
Plans for $1bn solar-powered green hydrogen and ammonia in Abu Dhabi
Details are thin on the ground as yet, but Emirati newspaper The National has reported the port facility will be linked to an 800 MW solar field at the site.
Dubai’s first green hydrogen project comes online
The project is the first solar-powered green hydrogen facility in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Solar and wind together overhaul global hydro capacity
The latest set of clean energy statistics compiled by the International Renewable Energy Agency signal a changing of the guard when it comes to clean power, with legacy hydropower facilities overtaken by new intermittent renewables.
