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February 29, 2012 - Welcome to the MENA Solar Brief newsletter - Issue 1202
Serving the solar energy market in the MENA region. Solar energy associations, government organizations and companies in the GCC / MENA region are encouraged to submit solar news, articles, reports, job postings and event notices for publication in the monthly MENA Solar Brief.
MENA Solar Map: Submit solar project details to be included on upcoming Google Mashup Solar Map application. For details: click here
Solar Scholarship - Apply now!
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ESIA in the News:
 News, job postings, upcoming events, solar reports and more. - March 12, 2012 - ESIA Breakfast Briefing 9:00 - 11:00 am
Fairmont Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai
Please RSVP by March 7th via email to: laurentia@emiratessolar.com
A business breakfast briefing discussing Dubai's Solar Energy Program featuring:
Mr. Waleed Ahmed Salman
Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, DEWA
Member of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy
Ms. Fatima Alfoora Alshamsi, Manager of New Business Development, DEWA
- March 13 - 15, 2012 Wetex Exhibition - please visit ESIA booth shared with BP
- March 26, 2012 - (AGM) - The first Annual General Meeting of ESIA will be held at the Fairmont Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 9:00 to 11:00 am.
- ESIA Standards Committee's organized - the committee's collectively develop generic specifications and best practices for the UAE solar industry. ESIA Members only: Contact : laurentia@emiratessolar.com
For more information contact: Laurentia van Lennep laurentia@emiratessolar.com Emirates Solar Industry Association Marketing Coordinator
+971 55 664 0487 |
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SASIA in the News:
News, job postings, upcoming events, solar reports and more.
- SASIA launches new website and logo - visit www.saudi-sia.com
- KACare Saudi Solar Summit 2012 to be hosted by Royal Commission in Yanbu during April 2012.
- KACare issues RFP for grid connection study. Deadline March 24, 2012
- SASIA Matchmaking and Networking Event - April 15, 2012 -
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Jobs - SASIA seeks Membership Coordinator based in KSA
For more information contact:
info@saudi-sia.com or visit www.saudi-sia.com
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Solar Energy News Summary:
Top Stories
* Renewable energy sources offer the next big leap in the Middle East - Zawya 02/2012 - It's no secret that the Middle East is rich in non-renewable resources. However, with domestic electricity consumption increasing and populations and incomes across the region rising, concern is growing over future energy sources and how renewables can be successfully - and quickly - introduced.
* The Chinese Solar Machine - MIT Technology Review 02/2012
Chinese manufacturers have dominated the international market for conventional solar panels by building bigger factories faster. Now they will need to innovate to maintain their lead.
* Kuwait - Struggle for supremacy - Robin Mills 02/2012 - Last October, the electricity and water ministry announced ambitious targets to generate a tenth of its electricity from solar power by 2020. With conducive climatic conditions, and sunshine matched to peak demand from midday air-conditioning, there is a strong economic case to replace oil with solar power where possible. But delays in choosing the appropriate technology means most observers are sceptical these targets will be met.
* Energy storage: key to renewables - Renewable Energy Focus - 02/2012 -
Energy storage is well known in off-grid installations, but how can energy storage be used as a way of accessing the grid for connected renewable energy systems?
Energy storage is heralded as a solution to integrate more renewable energy into the grid. Andrew Jones, managing director, S&C Electric Europe Ltd., agrees.
* Tunisia - A Possible Electrical Savior of Southern Europe? - Oilprice.com - 02/2012
Tunisia is endowed with a reliable source of solar power in its southern Saharan region, where the sunshine generates 20 percent stronger solar radiation than even the best locations in Europe. Given its proximity to Italy, Tunisia is in an ideal position to transfer such renewable energy directly to European markets, with much less energy loss along the way compared to its Maghreb neighbors. Last year's Arab Spring has significantly improved investor interest in Tunisia.
* Renewable energy in Saudi Arabia - Norton Rose - 01/2012 -
With its vast landscape, featuring "empty stretches of desert that can host solar arrays and vast deposits of clear sand that can be used in the manufacture of silicon photovoltaic cells"3 and benefiting from approximately 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, Saudi Arabia is highly suited to the development of solar energy. Saudi Aramco forecasts that the cost of solar production will halve to $0.10 per kWh in the period 2010-20 in the GCC, making it cheaper than diesel-fired generation and placing it on a par with gas * Oman - Six pilot renewable projects - utilitiesme.com 02/2012 -
Oman's Rural Areas Electricity Authority has undertaken six pilot projects, partnering with private sector developers to provide renewable electricity generation. Hamed bin Salim al Maghderi, RAECO's general manager, told the Oman Construction Summit that the projects range from 200 kilowatts to 3.5 megawatts, and will be using both solar and wind technology. * Creating a viable solar market - BuildGreen 02/2012 - The Gulf region is blessed with infinite amounts of solar energy. In theory, there is hardly any need to generate energy from other sources. There are, of course, a number of stumbling blocks that will need to be overcome, but tapping into the vast supply of solar energy that is freely available to us here in the Gulf does not have to remain a romantic vision. * UAE - How prepared is the UAE for solar energy roll-out? - power-eng.com 02/2012 - Energy experts recently declared 2012 as the 'breakthrough' year for solar power in the GCC, with countries like the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia leading the solar powered charge. One then may ask; why invest massively in solar energy, in a region that has largely built its economies on oil? "Abundance of sunshine in the region coupled with soaring demand for power is the main driving factor," says Bruce Smith, the business advisor for the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity (Adwea). * Jordan - Renewable energy in Jordan - Norton Rose 02/2012 -
In May 2011, Jordan's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (the Ministry of Energy) called for investors to submit expressions of interest (EOIs) for installing 1,800 MWs of renewable energy plants. Interested parties had until June 30 2011 to deliver proposals for renewable energy projects. In the Master Strategy of the Energy Sector in Jordan for the period (2007-2020) (the Energy Strategy), the Jordanian government set a target to obtain 1,800 MWs, or 10 per cent of the country's energy supply, from renewable sources by 2020. * Solar Investing - Solar ETFs Flare Up In 2012 - Jared Cummuns - With natural gas prices sinking to historical lows and crude oil futures whip-lashing amidst the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, many are turning to alternative energy investments in search of lucrative returns
Upcoming Solar Energy Events, Exhibitions & Conferences -
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March 5-8, 2012 - MEED Arabian Power and Water Summit. Abu Dhabi, UAE
March 13-15, 2012 - WETEX-Water, Energy, Technology and Environment, Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre
March 28, 2012 Project Finance Egypt conference, Cairo , Egypt
April 16-17, 2012 - 4th Annual Maghreb/Middle East Renewable Energy Summit 2012. Casablanca, Morocco
April 22 - 25, 2012 - WORLD ecoConstruct, Abu Dhabi UAE
May 6-9, 2012 - Oman Power & Water Summit 2012
May 16-18, 2012 - SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai
May 22-23, 2012 - Solar Maghreb, Casablanca, Morocco
June 11-14, 2012 - Intersolar Europe Conference, Munich, Germany
September 26-28, 2012 - World Clean Technology Summit (WCTS) - Kampala Uganda
October 22-24, 2012 APVIA 2012 - PV Asia Pacific Expo in Singapore
November 13-14, 2012 Solar Industry Summit - Middle East 2012, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
November 14-16, 2012 - EnerSol - WSEF 2012
World Sustainable Energy Forum - 1st Edition - Palais des Expositions du Kram - Tunis
For event details - click here |
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MENA Solar Brief
Editor: Browning Rockwell
Email: browningr@horizoninc.com
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