Middle East

The disrupture of the country’s power system, which is being caused by the ongoing civil conflicts, is pushing Yemenis to resort to solar as a primary source of energy. According to preliminary estimates, more than 300 MW of PV power generators were installed in Yemen since the war began in 2015.

Middle Eastern PV: The Jordanian solar sector has enjoyed near-constant growth in recent years, proving that it is a market founded on a sustainable and reliable base. Investors have been wondering for a few years whether Egypt can follow Jordan’s example successfully, and the signs are good that 2018 will prove to be a strong year for Egypt’s solar development. pv magazine explains the forces driving this optimism.

Overall, 42 bids were submitted to Lebanon’s Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) for 180 MW of tendered PV capacity. The LCEC will now start the evaluation process in two weeks.

U.K. investment firm, Arjun Infrastructure Partners is expected to bring strategic support and access to capital to the UAE-based solar developer.

The tender, where capacity may even reach 500 MW, is part of the Oman government’s plan to diversify the country’s energy mix.

The recent Saudi Arabian tender for 300 MW of solar PV saw a bid of $0.0178/kWh – the lowest price by far yet seen globally. Aymen Grira of French energy consultancy Altran discusses this bid, and explores the wider PV potential of the MENA region.

A consortium formed by UAE-based Masdar and French energy giant EDF has offered to deploy all the tendered capacity at a LCOE of 0.06697 SAR ($0.0178) per kWh. In addition, seven of the eight bids were under $0.03 per kWh. The tender’s bidders will be announced by the end of January 2018.

Lebanon’s authorities had received 256 bids for solar energy projects totaling 3 GW in the pre-selection phase of the tender process.

Chinese module manufacturer JinkoSolar announced the completion of financial negotiations for the 1.17 GW solar project to be built in Abu Dhabi. The project will be financed with $870 million and is expected to begin commercial operation in April 2019.

In the latest tender for PV projects up to 12 MW held in March, the Israeli government allocated around 235 MW of solar capacity. Overall, the Middle Eastern country has reached cumulative PV capacity of over 900 MW.