Middle East

Saudi Arabia has laid out an ambitious vision to establish itself as a renewable energy hub for the Middle East and beyond. The market is growing rapidly, with solar generation capacity more than tripling in 2023. But obstacles remain for the Kingdom to continue on this PV pathway, and these challenges were up for discussion this week in Riyadh at the SunRise Arabia conference, organized by Solarabic and pv magazine.

The Omani authorities aim to develop a 500 MW solar project in Ibri, in northwestern Oman, where other PV facilities are located.

Introducing rooftop solar “obligations” for new structures and public buildings, as well as tendering suitable apartment building roofs by municipalities, could help Turkey drive up its rooftop solar capacity to 120 GW, according to a new report by think tank Ember.

Saudi Arabia aims to add 10 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2027, with solar to account for the lion’s share. The Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) describes the main market drivers that could make this target achievable.

Selected projects will be awarded a fixed tariff of ILS 0.2091 ($0.06.708)/kWh over a 23-year period.

Through the two procurement exercises, Bahrain’s Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) wants to deploy solar plants at the Ministry of Labour & Social Development and the Ministry of Education.

The production equipment for the factory was provided by Spain’s Mondragon Assembly. The facility is currently the largest module factory in the Middle East.

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. is seeking developers for a 5 MW solar facility.

The shortlisted developers are Jinko Power, Total, ACWA Power, Alfanar, and a consortium formed by Masdar and EDF.

TotalEnergies plans to build a 1 GW solar plant near the port of Basra, in southern Iraq.