1. ESIA in the News -   October 2011- pv magazine Interview: "Thinking beyond the Nours and Shams" Interview: The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries have received prominent limelight due to some prestigious project announcements like Shams and Noor. Nevertheless, in order for the systematic and proper development of solar energy in the region, there is a need for structure. Emirates Solar Industry Association's President Browning Rockwell explains the market and the necessary steps to take.  

ESIA Business Breakfast - October 5, 2011 

The Emirates Solar Industries breakfast attracted a high-calibre audience, with renewables industry experts from the UAE joined by others from the Gulf region and elsewhere in the world, making it an excellent networking event. The three speakers made the case for the commercial viability of solar power in the MENA region.

Event Summary: Philipp Sonnauer from Siemens discussed the potential cost savings from solar power compared to oil-fired generation, considering potential rises in oil prices and the revenues to be gained from exporting oil rather than using it domestically. Robin Mills from Manaar Energy Consulting presented a marginal cost model of Gulf power generation, allowing for the increasing use of oil and LNG for fuel, and compared this to solar generation, allowing for the demand peak in the summer midday, coinciding with peak solar insolation. Ivano Iannelli, CEO of the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, covered the other benefits of solar power, its position as part of a portfolio of low-carbon generation, and its qualification for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credits.

The key lesson of the presentation is that, given the increasing fuel cost in the Gulf, solar power is close to competitive in the right countries and situations; and there is growing attention to its place in environmental policies.

Questions came after the presentations regarding comparisons to nuclear power; the issue of meeting the early evening demand peak; the qualification of solar power for the CDM; and the relevance to the situation in Saudi Arabia.   

2. Solar Energy News Brief - 

• Why the end of oil is closer than you think - October 13, 2011 ArabianBusiness.com - Conventional wisdom tells us that we will be hooked on oil for generations to come. This is a view that is firmly defended by OPEC. But is it true? Vahid Fotuhi, Chairman of ESIA, explains that the seeds of change are starting to rise to the surface and by 2050 we will see new innovations that could very likely displace oil as the main energy driver of our global economy.   
•  "A thin film frontier" September 2011, Jonathan Gifford, pv magazine
  Japan: Previously having only a relatively minor slice of the thin film PV market, Solar Frontier has not been making too many waves. But from their coastal city Miyazaki in southern Japan, the company is raising new facilities with the potential to make a major splash.
• China's Grip on Solar Power -  October 6, PRI's The World -

  When President Barack Obama came into office, he pledged to make green technologies a top priority. But now his administration is on the defensive for giving a $535 million loan guarantee to the California solar panel maker Solyndra. The company went belly up last month and laid off about 1,100 workers. And the FBI is investigating the company. Thursday, President Obama said the government should continue to support clean energy technologies. He rejected Republican claims that the US can't compete with China when it comes to making solar panels."Part of what's happening is China and Europe, other countries, are putting enormous subsidies into these companies and giving them incentives to move offshore," said Mr. Obama. 

•  PV Panels totalling 2.3 MW mounted on 11 buildings in Abu Dhabi.- October 2011 - The Masdar Times , Masdar, together with Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) have jointly installed photovoltaic (PV) solar rooftop panels on 11 government and private buildings in Abu Dhabi 

• When subsidies are not on the level - October 9, 2011 The National Half a trillion dollars is the yearly bill governments are paying to support fossil fuels through subsidies and tax breaks, according to a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). That is a challenge for the UN's youngest agency, which promotes the adoption of renewables from its headquarters in Abu Dhabi and a research centre inaugurated this week in Bonn, Germany. Adnan Amin, the director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), spoke to The National about the world's economic troubles and how to advance clean technology from a base in the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter  

• The Year of Peril and Promise in Energy Production - October 10, 2011, John Broder, NY Times - Global energy markets were rocked over the past year by a series of natural, political and market upheavals that are likely to affect patterns of energy supply and consumption for decades.
• Solar PV rapidly becoming the cheapest option to generate electricity  - October 2011, GRIST , Kees van der Leun - For a long time, the holy grail of solar photovoltaics (PV) has been "grid parity," the point at which it would be as cheap to generate one's own solar electricity as it is to buy electricity from the grid. And that is indeed an important market milestone, being achieved now in many places around the world. But recently it has become clear that PV is set to go beyond grid parity and become the cheapest way to generate electricity.  
• ESIA "Members Only" News, Research and Leads Extranet - GCC/MENA region solar project pipeline - contact information and project profile 

3.  Announcements, Events & Calendar -    

• Welcome new ESIA Members:Power-One,  SCHOTT Middle East FZE , First Solar, Schneider Electric,Solite Power Systems, Ashurst  
• Event promotion: ESIA Members 20% discount
  
  Join the event and register online - Members of ESIA benefit from a 20% discount!   Register here and choose ESIA as your partner association.
• Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA) -  the first founders meeting was held on Oct 3, 2011 at Saudi Aramco in Dhahran. Over 25 attendees including Dar Al Riyadh, Olayan Group, ACWA Power, National Solar, Al Naizak, KA-CARE, Al Tuwairqi Holdings, Vinson & Elkins,  and Saudi Aramco Power Systems & Engineering.  For more information email: saudisolar@gmail.com   

4.  Upcoming Solar  Energy Exhibitions & Conferences  -