MENA Brief
Welcome to the MENA Solar Brief Newsletter  -  Greetings and Ramadan Kareem
September 12,  2013 - Issue 1309
Serving the solar energy market in the GCC / MENA region.

* SASIA in the News
* Regional & Global Solar News 
* Project Leads & Updates
* Solar Technology Focus
* Solar Investing & Project Finance
* Conferences & Exhibition
 
SASIA  in the News:  
SASIA block

News, job postings, upcoming events, solar reports and more.

 

Upcoming Events:  

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 Do you want to learn why Saudi Arabia will become the solar hub of the Middle-East?


From 10 to 14 November Solarplaza, in partnership with SASIA, will organize a five-day, all-inclusive and very intensive international solar energy trade mission to Saudi Arabia.

Learn more about solar energy in Saudi Arabia through these articles:
SASIA's White Paper on the Solar Potential of Saudi Arabia
Apricum's Country Profile on Saudi Arabia
Key Facts & Figures on Saudi Arabia
Reasons to join the Trade Mission

To receive more information on the program or obtain the registration form contact us now or visit

Until 10 October, you will receive a €200,- early-bird discount.

 

Breakthrough Report on the Solar Potential of Saudi Arabia Released at this Year's Joint Forces for Solar Networking Briefing - click here to download

Sleeping-giant-or-mirage-cover 

Renewable energy initiatives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may soon create an attractive new market for international solar partnerships. The first major report to focus exclusively on concrete solutions and practical approaches for Saudi Arabia will be released at the 2nd PV Briefing & Networking Forum Saudi Arabia, hosted by the global network initiative Joint Forces for Solar and the Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA).

   

SASIA Website Now Available in Arabic - click here 

SASIA Website Now Available in Arabic

 

10 September, 2013 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia-The Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA) is pleased to announce that an Arabic-language version of its website is now available. The Arabic mirror site was launched in conjunction with the opening of the 2nd PV Briefing & Networking Forum Saudi Arabia, hosted by SASIA and the global network initiative Joint Forces for Solar. "Adding Arabic-language access to our resources is the next step toward our goal of reaching out to all levels of Saudi society," says Browning Rockwell, Executive

 

 

Joint Forces for Solar Sept. 10, 2013 Riyadh - 2ndPV Briefing & Networking Forum Saudi Arabia, jointly hosted by Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA), Joint Forces for Solar, EuPD Research and Intersolar.  Over 260 delegates attended the conference for global executive diallogue on solar energy development in Saudi Arabia.

SASIA logo final April 28, 2013 SASIA 2013 - Membership Application   

 

Members include:  SunPower , SMA , Canadian Solar Middle East, SkyPower Global, TSMC, ERADA Advanced Projects Co. Ltd. , Soitec Solar, First Solar, Hilti, Activ Solar, Air Liquide ,Shoals Technologies Group, Eversheds, Kaneka, Empower, Amonix, KFB Group, Abengoa,Desert Technologies, Polysilicon Technology Company, Dar Solar, Enel Green Power, Latham & Watkins, Life Energy, Celestica, GT Advanced Technologies

For more information contact:    

Maha Shirah - Marketing Manager 

Email: [email protected]  

Website:  www.saudi-sia.com (English)  www.saudi-sia.com/ar/  (Arabic)

 


Solar Energy News Summary: 

Top Stories

     * Saudi Arabia - Riyadh forum discuss's solar energy investment.Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat-A major international forum will be held in Riyadh on Tuesday to discuss funding strategies and the removal of obstacles to investment in solar energy and photovoltaic cell research in Saudi Arabia.The forum, which is organized by the Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA), discussed building commercial networks, in addition to analysis of public market conditions and the opportunities provided by the Saudi solar energy program.

     * Saudi ArabiaSwitch to solar energy gathers pace: UAE and Saudi Arabia lead race . UAE and Saudi Arabia emerge as biggest markets among GCC states for deployment of solar power, accounting for most of projects.

     * Saudi Arabia - Saudi solar-powered desal plant ready by year-end.Yousef Al-Yousef, supervisor at the Energy Research Institute at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), told Alsharq newspaper that the plant would have a capacity of 30,000m� of drinking water a day to meet the needs of 100,000 people living in the town of Al-Khafji, near the Kuwaiti border.

     * Saudi Arabia: How Solar Power is Saving Middle East Oil. Several global oil companies including Chevron and Shell are looking into projects to produce oil from solar Arab Water and Power Forum

 




   
    * UAE UAE Opens Biggest Solar Power Station In The World.
he Shams Power Company opened their Shams 1 concentrated solar power station this week in Abu Dhabi. The station generates 100 MW and can power 20,000 homes while reducing CO2 emissions by 175,000 tons per year.
 
      * Qatar - Solar technology to meet Qatar's energy commitments and new 200MW plant

      * JordanLights go out in Jordan as energy crisis bites. The resource-poor kingdom, which imports 97 percent of its energy, has in the past two years seen the annual cost of those purchases soar above $5 billion - equivalent to about 15 percent of its gross domestic product - after supplies of cheap Egyptian gas were disrupted by sabotage of a pipeline to Jordan.

 

     * Morocco - Morocco's plans more CSP plants. Morocco plans to build two more concentrated solar power (CSP) plants producing 200 MW and 100 MW respectively at the southerly city of Ouarzazate, the country's government has announced. This follows the commencement of construction of a 160 MW CSP plant at Ouarzazate in May 2013, by Acwa Power of Saudi Arabia. Acwa Power won the contract for the first CSP plant in 2012 after offering a price of $0.19 per kilowatt/hour.

 

  

      * MENA Region - GCC to lead world's green economy. I believe that it is GCC and OPEC countries' strategic interest to play a major role in the world's green economy map. This strategy should consist of three parallel tracks.

      *Global -  The MENA Renewables Status Report - The MENA Renewables Status Report, produced by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), REN21, and the United Arab Emirates, and released in June 2013 as an outcome of ADIREC, the Abu Dhabi International Renewable Energy Conference, provides a status overview of renewable energy markets, industry, policy and investment trends in the region, drawing on the most recent data available.

Research -  A brighter future for solar energy.The research team, led by Dr Ian Forbes, is exploring thin film photovoltaic (PV) technology based on kesterite - Copper-Zinc-Tin Sulphide crystal structure - materials that are less expensive and more widely available than materials currently used in PV panels.
  
Solar Project Leads & Updates: SASIA Members only:  Join Now!

Solar Industry News -  Solar Manufacturing Costs Not Driven Primarily by Labor. Production scale, not lower labor costs, drives China's current advantage in manufacturing solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems, according to a new report released by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

 Solar Investing & Project Finance - Mena Looks to Solar Energy - Research carried out by Standard Chartered Bank's Renewable Energy and Environmental Finance team, a PV project in the GCC would generate a real Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 9.4 per cent if oil prices rise to 163/bbl (in real 2010 terms) by 2030. Even in the case of flat real oil prices to 2030, the project would still generate a rate of return of 4.6 per cent.

Solar Project of the Month -Saudi Arabia Solar Project profiles - click here                                 
Upcoming Solar Energy Events, Exhibitions & Conferences    
2013 Calendar:
September 17-18 Powering MENA Summit - Amman, Jordan
Septeber 23 - 25 Arabian Water and Power Forum, Dubai Marina,  UAE
September 28-30  LIBYA-DUN Conference and Exhibition on Renewable Energy
September 29-30  2nd Solar Arabia Summit , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
September 30 - October 4   28th EU PVSEC - Paris , France
October 21-24  Solar Power International 2013  , Chicago, Illinois USA
October 24-25  MENA Renewable Energy Congress, Istanbul, Turkey
October 30-31 4th Annual DII Desert Energy Conference - Rabat, Morocco
November 3-5   Inventions Nanotech Middle East, Doha, Qatar
November 5-7  MENA Power 2013, Abu Dhabi , UAE
November 5-8  Intersolar India, Mumbai, India
November 10-14 Saudi Solar Trade Mission, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
December 1-3  Saudi Water & Power Forum, Jeddah, KSA
December 1-4  SolarTec 2013 , Cairo Egypt

2014 Calendar:
January 20-22  World Future Energy Summit , Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
February 11-13  Solar Middle East Exhibition & Conference , Dubai, U.A.E.   


Featured Event:
  
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4th Dii Desert Energy Conference, Rabat (Morocco), October 30-31 / 2013

 

Event description 

The 4th Dii Desert Energy Conference is a platform for high-level international representatives from the political as well as scientific communities, civil society and industry to take action towards building stronger renewable energy markets in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The conference will focus on reference projects, international cooperation and integration as well as the economic impacts of desert power -  More information - click here  
MENA Solar Brief 
Editor:  Browning Rockwell