Middle East

Although the Saudi authorities were expected to launch tenders for 3.3 GW of solar last year, these were postponed. According to local industry sources, when new targets for renewables are set and more clarity on solar capacity expansion provided, the first tenders will be issued. The new targets are expected to also include the ambitious 200 GW project announced by the Saudi Government last March.

With Dubai and Abu Dhabi having already implemented big plans for solar energy development, the small northern emirate of Umm Al Quwain has now announced its first large-scale solar power project.

The funds, provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will help utility NEPCO repay short-term debt, as well as financing expansion of the grid’s capability to increase the share of solar and other renewable energy.

Only three consortia are now competing to build huge solar park: one formed by Masdar, Total and Jinko; another led by Saudi energy company ACWA; and a third group of companies led by Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and the Oman Gas Company (OGC). The tender is expected to be finalized early next year.

The project, tendered by the Saudi authorities in February, will be built by a new company which is 70% controlled by the energy giant and 30% by contractor AlGihaz Holding. The plant will sell power to the Saudi Power Procurement Company at $0.0236/kWh.

The Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA) has announced it will expand Phase IV of the 5 GW Mohammed bin Rashid Maktoum Solar Park by another 250 MW. The power utility has also revealed that the PPA with the project developer, local energy giant ACWA Power has been amended, and that the new PV portion of Phase IV, which originally included only a 700 MW CSP power plant planned to sell power at $0.073/kWh, will sell power at a tariff of $0.024/kWh. This price equals that of a 1.17 GW solar project currently under construction in Abu Dhabi.

In its report, Renewable Energy Outlook: Egypt, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) envisages a scenario in which solar becomes the second largest energy source in the country, after gas. If current plans and RE strategies are maintained, however, just 9 GW will be installed by 2030, compared 44 GW. The agency recommends a series of actions to achieve a 2030 renewable energy target of 52%.

In a study on the potential for local manufacturing of renewable energy equipment in the Arab region, IRENA has assessed how three pilot Arab countries – Lebanon, Jordan and the UAE – where development of clean energy is currently strong, may host PV, CSP and wind energy industries. In all of them, however, there are currently few chances of seeing a rising solar and renewable energy manufacturing industry, due to a series of challenges, such as, among others, the lack of a qualified workforce, and favorable regulatory settings.

The Oman Power and Water Procurement company (OPWP) is now seeking bids to secure technical consultancy services for the development of the project, the capacity of which could reach 1 GW.