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Feature article: Egypt Solar Market Profile prepared by Egypt Solar Industry Association - (Egypt-SIA)
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With more than 87 million inhabitants as of 2014, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab World, and the fifteenth most populous in the world. It covers an area of 1,002,000 square meters, of which 78,990 km2 is populated, representing 7.8% of the total area.
A combination of population growth, development of energy-intensive industries, and the use of electrical household appliances, particularly air conditioning, has resulted in a soaring demand for electricity that is increasing at an annual rate of seven percent.
Along with the rising energy demand, natural gas supply shortages, ageing infrastructure, and inadequate generation and transmission capacity, have together led to frequent blackouts and service interruptions of up to 14 times a month. To cover the shortfall in natural gas during the summer months, the country usually imports fuel oil and diesel.
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SOLAR GCC ALLIANCE NEWS
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Publisher's Note:
Egypt solar GW's and Billions to offer
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Solar Middle East exhibition and conference fails to inspire market - Saudi solar remains dim
The summer heat is fast approaching the region but the solar market remains cool. Saudi Arabia shows no sign of releasing a post KA.CARE renewable roadmap. However, KA.CARE recently signed an MOU to explore nuclear option for the Kingdom. Saudi Aramco and SEC appear to be the likely successor to KA.CARE but no news has been released. The private sector continues to explore off-grid solar options in response to reduced access to diesel fuel in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi solar news section features a commentary on the impact of the Royal Decree on K.A.CARE and the Saudi renewable landscape.
The Solar Middle East exhibition and conference concluded on March 4th at the Dubai World Trade Centre with little news to report. The exhibition hall was full of solar explorers but commercial activity was limited. Solar event fatigue is beginning to take a toll with a full calendar of exhibitions and conferences to attend in the region for the balance of the year. While regulatory and policy framework remains unclear and not yet operational in most GCC countries there can be no commercial progress. Dubai's recently announced solar rooftop program will be slow to takeoff until subsidized electricity rates are increased to allow for a reasonable ROI on solar rooftop investments. On the positive note, a recent report from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), states that "solar will be at grid parity with two years in 80% of the world. "Solar PV will play a key role in meeting energy demand due to due to its increasingly cost-competitive nature, with recent tender prices from the Gulf Region forming a "new benchmark". A copy of the report "Financing the Future of Energy " can be downloaded from the Global/Mena news section below.
Meanwhile, Egypt has captured the headlines and attention of the solar industry the last several weeks. The Egyptian government has been preparing for the internationally advertised investment conference in Sharm el-Sheikh with hopes of attracting $ 60 billion dollars in foreign direct investment investments including billions for renewable energy. There has been a wave of press releases from the solar industry announcing gigawatts of development and billions in investment. Details have yet to be released. We are publishing an abstract from the soon to be released Solar Market Profile from the Egypt Solar Industry Association (Egypt-SIA) in this months feature article.
The run up to summer holidays will be a telltale for solar market development in the GCC region for balance of 2015. If we do not see any significant announcements before summer I expect that very little will happen in until Q1/Q2 2016.
Browning Rockwell
Executive Director, Solar GCC Alliance
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Solar GCC Alliance Jobs Portal
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Solar Careers in the MENA/GCC Region portal - over 2,000 CV's
The Solar GCC Alliance Jobs Portal is your source for opportunities in the GCC's growing solar industry. Click below to find jobs or qualified candidates.
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Solar GCC Alliance Partner News
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The Solar GCC Alliance has formed an Egyptian affiliate, to be known as the Egypt Solar Industry Association (Egypt-SIA). This organization will seek to create new solar energy business and employment opportunities in Egypt and enable collaboration opportunities throughout the GCC region.
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SASIA in the News
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SolarPV.tv coverage - Click here
Panel discussion - Solar and Energy Storage in the MENA Region
Discussion hosted by Solar GCC Alliance, SASIA and SolarUnited
The second Solar and Energy Storage Forum answers critical questions about markets, policy and technology in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Panelists include SASIA Executive Director Browning Rockwell, SolarUnited Executive Director Bryan Ekus, Air Liquide Executive VP Imtiaz Mahtab, GPTech Founder and Co-Partner Javier Cruz and Masdar Institute Assistant Professor Dr. Nicolas Calvet.
Event: SASIA Solar Breakfast Briefing
Thursday, Feb, 26th 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
Olaya Hilton Garden Inn, Riyadh
Presentations - click here
Saudi Arabia Solar Market Insights - Browning Rockwell
Technical Challenges for the Development of Solar in Saudi Arabia -
Carlos Suarez - Altermia
Hybrid Renewable Energy Integration - GPTech
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Solar Trade Leads and Tenders Bulletin Board
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Upcoming Events
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May 6, 2015
1st Egypt-SIA Solar Breakfast Briefing - 8:30 am - 12:00 noon
New Cairo, Egypt
Save the Date - Oct. 4-8, 2015
co-hosted by SASIA, Solarplaza and Solar GCC Alliance
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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REGIONAL & GLOBAL SOLAR NEWS
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Global - MENA - GCC countries:
Solar PV at grid parity in 80% of globe by 2017
A new report from a MENA region bank shows that solar will be at grid parity within two years in 80% of the world.
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The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) presented its Financing the Future of Energy Report at the Global Financial Markets Forum currently underway in Abu Dhabi. It concluded that growing energy demand would require $48 trillion in investment over the next 20 years to close the energy demand and supply gap.
Crucially for the renewable energy industry, the NBAD report concludes that solar PV will play a key role in meeting this energy demand due to its increasingly cost-competitive nature, with recent tender prices from the Gulf Region forming a "new benchmark".
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KA-Care and Saudi Renewable Landscape
Impact of the Royal Decree on K.A.CARE and Saudi Renewables Landscape - commentary
To a certain extent the 'relegation' of K.A.CARE with the abolition of the Supreme Council of the King Abdullah City (K.A.CARE) has major implications for renewable deployment in the Kingdom. These are enumerated below:
Overall targets
The 'relegation' of K.A.CARE may change the overall size of the mandate if/when the Royal Court makes a decision on the Kingdom's national renewable strategy. With K.A.CARE diminished the level of ambition may be dialed down.
However, I think this has now been overtaken by events. When K.A.CARE announced its 54GW renewable roadmap in 2012, it was for good reasons a seismic announcement. With the financial crisis in 2008, many countries were cutting back on feed-in tariffs and the future of solar looked a bit cloudy. However in 2013, the US, UK, Italy, Japan, China, Germany, India, Romania, Greece all added over 1GW of new capacity- a number likely to be surpassed when 2014 data comes in. So what looked ambitious in 2012 (an average of c. 2.15GW of solar PV, CSP each year) is now mildly so. As a result, despite the initial misgivings of other stakeholders that the targets were too ambitious and potentially very expensive, it is highly likely that the initial target may be scaled back, but that the long run target ends up closer to K.A.CARE's original target as local stakeholders recalibrate their expectations on what is achievable or ambitious.
Technology mix
One aspect of K.A.CARE's original roadmap that is likely to disappear is their heavy weighting on CSP. It is unlikely that we will see a 25GW CSP roll-out particularly with the costs of PV having declined considerably. I think of the 54GW GW target - PV (16GW) and wind (9GW) may end up being higher than what K.A.CARE envisaged with CSP being sharply reduced.
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 From the Fossil-Fuel Center of the World, A Call for Renewables and Energy Efficiency
In a must-read report released this week on fast-changing energy markets, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi signals a once-in-a-lifetime opening for investors in Middle Eastern renewables and energy efficiency.
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The report, "Financing the Future of Energy: The Opportunity for the Gulf's Financial Services Sector" carries the imprimatur of researchers at the University of Cambridge and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Australian readers will be familiar with the author of its forward, none other than Alex Thursby, CEO of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and previously the very successful chief executive of international & institutional banking at ANZ (Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd).
What really jumps out, though, is where the report comes from, namely the epicenter of the fossil-fuel world. And while it focuses on investment opportunities in the political and economic union made up of the Gulf Cooperation Council-Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates-its conclusions can be carried over in many ways to other parts of the world. Asia and Africa are mentioned in particular.
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Jordan's universities install solar
pv magazine has learned the Hashemite University is soon going to announce the winner of its tender for a 5 MW solar PV park at its premises in the city of Zarqa in northeast Jordan. The solar installation represents an overall trend in the country, where an increasing number of educational institutions are embracing PV.
The Hashemite University (HU) in Jordan initially announced the tender for a photovoltaic park in 2013. The tender documents invited "all eligible local and international companies for the design, supply, delivery, installation, testing, and commissioning of grid-connected low and medium-voltage photovoltaic systems at the Hashemite University campus, with a 5 MW DC nameplate capacity." The No 32 /2013 tender aimed to pick the project's engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
Last year Hashemite University also announced a tender "for the supervision and consultation for tender No. 32/2013." The second tender expired on May 11, 2014, with bids remaining valid for a period of 120 days following the deadline.
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Abengoa breaks ground on Moroccan desal plant
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Abengoa has recently begun construction of Morocco's largest desalination plant, having closed the financing for the project together with its local partner InfraMaroc (CDG Capital Infrastructures group)
Once commissioned, the plant located 45 km from the city of Agadir will supply 100,000 m3/day of drinking water to more than 500,000 people and contribute to the development of the tourism and agricultural industries that are the main economic drivers of the surrounding region.
The plant will use the most modern ultrafiltration pre-treatment systems and reverse osmosis technology to desalinate sea water. Capacity may be doubled at a later date, Abengoa said in a statement.
Read article - click here
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Oman's first commercial solar project to start up in May.
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The 303 kW solar power plant will be Al Mazyunah in Dhofar, the Oman Tribune said citing the CEO of Rural Areas Electricity Company (Raeco), Hamad Bin Salim Al Maghdari.
Raeco signed an agreement for the project, including power purchase in November 2013. The technology used includes PV thin films and polycrystalline system and is spread over 8 square kilometres. Oman is aiming to generate 25% of the country's energy needs from renewable sources.
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Kuwait to build 100 solar-powered fuel stations
Kuwait is planning to build 100 solar-powered fuel stations in the next five years, said a report.
The stations will be installed, 20 at a time, Shukri Al-Mahrous, deputy chief executive officer of Kuwait National Petroleum Company, was quoted as saying by Kuna, the country's official news agency. The first 20 stations are expected to start operation by 2017, it added.
The project is part of KOC's efforts to increase reliance on renewable energy in generating electricity, he said.
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CONFERENCES & EXHIBITIONS
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Featured Event - Menasol - May 13 - 14, 2015 Dubai, UAE
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Meet leading policy makers and win projects to increase your profits in MENA
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www.solargcc.com
Published by - Solar GCC Alliance
P.O. Box 16111 , RAK, U.A.E.
Email: info@solargcc.com
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