1. ESIA in the News -

Vahid Fotuhi, Chairman of the Emirates Solar Industry Association writes, The National Oct. 30, 2011 "A trade war with China over solar panels will burn US" - A group of US solar-panel manufacturers has recently filed a controversial petition against the Chinese solar industry.They are accusing China of helping its solar industry by unfairly providing billions of dollars in subsidies as well as cash grants and tax breaks. 

Exclusive ESIA Members Only Event:
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011, 9:00-11:00 am
Acwa Power International private briefing on 50 MW commercial PV project in Jordan. Expanded to 50 attendees.Register Now!

2. Solar Energy News Brief -     

• GCC utilities face huge challenges in meeting infrastructure demand-MEED Insight - Recent political unrest in the Middle East likely to increase investment in power and water infrastructure as governments seek to maintain uninterrupted power and water supply to a growing population. The task facing GCC utilities has just got harder. Political unrest in Bahrain and the wider Middle East has led several GCC governments to announce major investment programmes in housing and social infrastructure. Such measures will only serve to increase the already high demands on the regional power and water sectors. Abu Dhabi has revised up its 2020 power demand forecasts by about 6,000MW to 28,000MW in light of the March 2011 announcement by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al-Nahyan for increased investment in the Northern Emirates' power and desalination sector.   
• European Solar PV Market Sees Modest Pick Up in Year-End Demand; Industry Braces for Bleak 2012 - Nov. 14, SolarBuzz - A projected Q/Q rise of 22% in the Q4'11 European photovoltaic market is providing a welcome temporary boost for downstream solar companies. However, this growth rate still leaves significant corporate challenges in the management of the tumultuous slowdown this year in the world's largest regional photovoltaic market. The downstream challenge in 2012 will be effective management of a new pricing environment, against a backdrop of declining incentives and still-to-be-realized grid parity economics.   
• Dubai: Changing the energy mix - Oxford Business Group November 2011- Dubai is to change the way it powers itself, having announced a long-term plan to diversify the emirate's energy sector away from dependence on imported gas and towards a broad-based mix of fuels for its power stations. However, that energy security could come at a cost.   
• The Hybrid Power Plant: Is This The Best Application of Solar Technology? Brian Westenhaus, Nov. 2011 - Prof. Kribus has developed a new technology that combines the use of conventional fuel with the lower pressures and temperatures of steam produced by solar thermal power, allowing plants to be hybrid, replacing 25 to 50 percent of their fuel use with green energy.    
• How solar can save Gulf oil exports - Oct. 2011, Climate Spectator, Giles Parkinson - Something rather unexpected is happening in the Middle East. The oil-rich Gulf states, which have earned trillions of dollars in the past few decades exporting crude to the east and west, find they can no longer afford to consume their own oil. They are consuming ever increasing amounts at home, at a huge cost to exports, and are being forced to turn to renewables as a cheaper source of energy.     
• Shadow cast over big solar project - Nov. 6, 2011 The National, - The Arab Spring has been well received around the world, not least in Europe. Ties across the Mediterranean have historically been close, and events on either side of the sea will be noticed on the other. This will increasingly be so if one player in the energy sector has its way. Desertec, an initiative backed by a plethora of companies including Deutsche Bank and Munich Re is hoping to bring to life a renewable-energy sector in North Africa big enough to supply the local market and customers in Europe. The list of Desertec backers reflects Germany's role as a leader in solar-energy development.  
• Concentrating solar power: its potential contribution to a sustainable energy future. NOv. 2011. European Academies Science Advisory Council,:Concentrating solar power (CSP) sits alongside photovoltaic electricity generation as a commercially available renewable energy technology capable of harnessing the immense solar resource in Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (the MENA region), and elsewhere. This study by the European Academies Science Advisory Council has examined the current status and development challenges of CSP, and consequently has evaluated the potential contribution of CSP in Europe and the MENA region to 2050, and identified actions that will be required to enable that contribution to be realised. 
• 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: Founding Members,  Apricum Group, Viessmann Middle East Corporate Members, Taylor Wessing, Emirates Wildlife Society - WWF, Hilti, Schletter   
• ESIA Partner Event Promotion - Arab Renewable Energy Congress & Exhibition - Solar Levant & GCC - Nov. 29-30, 2011 Amman, Jordan
• SWPF2011 Saudi Arabia Water & Power Forum, Dec. 4-6,2011, Jeddah, KSA
• Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA) - Want to get involved? For more information email: saudisolar@gmail.com    
• Featured ESIA Members - Inverter manufacturers - Video presentations from 2011 Solar Power International Exhibition, Oct. 17-20, 2011 in Dallas, Texas, USA - PowerOne, SMA, Schneider Electric