MENA to host US$15bn in new solar projects over next five years
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is set to host over US$15bn’s worth of new and operational solar projects during the next five years, signalling a potent forward-thinking strategy for a region looking to transition away from fossil fuel exports.
Published ahead of the Solar Asset Management (SAM) MENA conference this November, SAM’s report on the matter says that the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) currently values the region’s solar market at around $20bn.
To meet mounting demand from global markets for clean energy, SAM said the region’s power generation capacity must increase by 66% by 2030, adding 267GW to its current capacity. The dropping costs of solar generation, along with the aforementioned demand, are facilitating the region’s push towards a renewable future.
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“Among the top five markets in the MENA region with the largest operational and in-the-pipeline solar projects include the UAE (58%), Egypt (23%), Jordan (10%) and Morocco (6%),” said Mina Mesbahi, Research Analyst at Solarplaza International BV, in SAM’s press release.
“Almost all the countries in this region experience an all year-round sunshine, providing breeding grounds for solar development. Accounting for almost 3GW of operational capacity, solar seems to only loom large for MENA.”
The SAM MENA conference is due to take place over 17-18 November 2019 at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai, UAE. Speakers at the event include: Rouven Lenhart, Managing Director, Meteocontrol AMEA; Ahmed S Nada, President, MESIA; Raed Ahmad Bkayrat, Managing Director, Clean Energy Business Council; Nabih Cherradi, CTO, Desert Technologies; and many more.