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September 2015 - issue 1508
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Feature publication : Sun Above the Horizon
The meteoric rise of the photovoltaic (PV) industry is an incredible story.
In 2013, Google's investments in PV systems totaled about half a billion
dollars and Warren Buffet, one of the famous investors, invested $2.5 billion in the world's largest PV system in California. These gigantic investments by major financial players were made only 40 years after the first two terrestrial PV companies, Solarex and Solar Power Corporation, were formed in the USA. Back in 1973, the two companies employed 20 people and produced only 500 watts of PV power.
Now, just 40 years later, over a million people work in the PV industry. The worldwide capacity of operating PV electric generators equals the capacity of about 25 nuclear power plants. The PV industry is growing at an annual rate of 30 percent, equivalent to about five new nuclear power plants per year. Today, solar electricity is a significant supplier of electricity needs, to the extent that PV is forcing the restructuring of 100- year-old electric power utilities. This book describes how this happened and what lies ahead for PV power generation.
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SOLAR GCC ALLIANCE NEWS
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Publisher's Note:
Meteoric Rise of the PV Industry
Solar power in UAE is not ready to replace diesel as subsidies end
Rethinking electricity charges in Saudi Arabia
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Welcome back from your summer holidays. This month we feature a summer reading book called "Sun Above the Horizon". Recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article titled The Power Revolutions this book provides an interesting narrative of the history and development of solar energy, which became a significant supplier of the world's electricity needs, to the extent that it has forced the restructuring of 100-year-old electric power utilities. "One thing is certain: Over the next few months, with the approach of December's big climate-change conference in Paris-more than 190 countries are expected to attend-the discussion will grow more intense over how quickly the planet can move away from coal, oil and natural gas and toward a low-carbon future. Such energy transitions are nothing new. They have been going on for more than two centuries. They have been transformative and undoubtedly will be again-but if history teaches anything, it is that they don't happen fast."  While the sun baked the landscape during the summer months there was little to report on solar development in the region. The UAE Government announced the lifting of fuel subsidies last month with little response from the solar industry. While investors will likely pay more attention to solar power solutions, the appetite is still not there.
Saudi Arabia burned nearly 900,000 barrels of crude oil for electricity in July 2014, the month when the bulk of Ramadan fell, nearly 63% higher than the year's monthly average. Total Saudi crude burned for domestic use rose more than 14% in 2014 over 2013. 2015 will prove to be an ever greater consumption of crude for domestic power. The ever-increasing domestic needs come at a sensitive moment for Saudi Arabia. Crude oil is now trading at about $40 a barrel, 60% lower than the highs of 2014. Saudi Arabia is the only place in the world where housing accounts for up to 50% of total power consumption. The Gulf region's energy subsidies have reached $160bn per year, of which Saudi Arabia alone accounts for anywhere between 50% and 75%. The current low oil price may force Saudi to look more seriously at solar energy and reduce power subsidies in the Kingdom as the government plans budget cuts of billions of dollars. Elsewhere, the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, ramped up its investments in vital infrastructure projects in the Middle East and North Africa over the past year, with a focus on renewable energy to tap into new energy sources and help mitigate climate change. IFC closed an innovative $208 million debt package to fund the construction of seven solar photovoltaic plants in Jordan - the largest-ever private sector-led solar project in the MENA region. Solar energy is now up to 1% of world electricity, which is about 0.2% of total world energy. Scenarios developed by IHS show it getting up to 4% to 9% of total global electricity by 2040. Recently, renewables covered almost 100% of German demand. With four months remaining in 2015, the GCC / MENA region is falling very short of achieving the ambitious solar project development goals announced at the beginning of the year. Industry leaders stated at the end of 2014 that ,"we will see mega projects mushrooming across the entire Middle East, ushering in a new era for our region's most abundant source of energy - solar power." Perhaps within the next 3-5 years is a more realistic timetable.
Regards,
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 - featured BIPV - solar design
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Middle East representative :
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Solar GCC Alliance Partner News
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 Egypt-SIA launched :
This organization will seek to create new solar energy business and employment opportunities in Jordan and enable collaboration opportunities throughout the GCC region. For more information, contact:
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Solar Trade Leads and Tenders Bulletin Board
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Tender no. 14/2015/2016 for a total installed PV capacity of 200MW
Tender no. 15/2015/2016 for a total installed CSP capacity of 50MW
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Upcoming Events
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Save the Date - Sept 14-16, 2015
Dubia World Trade Centre
Dubai, U.A.E.
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REGIONAL & GLOBAL SOLAR NEWS
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Global - MENA - GCC countries:
New technologies will push costs down
 50 Technology Highlights
In its latest "Silicon solar cell and module roadmap" report, Lux Research says that emerging technologies like PERC and bifacial cells will aid in pushing down module costs in 2020.
 New technologies are already flooding the PV sector with companies continually reporting the adoption of PERC or n-type, bifacial cell technologies to name a few. In line with this, Lux Research in its latest report confirms this trend and further adds that these technologies have the potential to push down module prices to $0.48/Wp in 2020. Efficiency of modules is also expected to increase to as high as 24% over the next five years. Read article - click hereFeatured - 50 Technology Highlights
Today's top technology to deliver efficiency, innovation and profits:
From reducing cost to boosting efficiency, enhancing durability
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KSA to build PV plant for under $5 cents per kWh
 
The King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday with the Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) and Taqnia Energy to launch the Kingdom's first standalone 50MW photovoltaic solar power project.
Taqnia will design, build, operate and maintain the plant with SEC committed to buying all power generated at an unsubsidised tariff of 0.1875 Riyals ($4.9 cents) per kWh, Arab News reported. Read article - click here:
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Greening the desert: How the UAE aims to change its carbon footprint
Relentless construction, a booming aviation sector and near-permanent air conditioning: Dubai is not an obvious contender for the title of one of the world's most sustainable cities. 
By 2030, the government wants to have reduced energy use across the emirate by 30 percent and to generate at least 25 percent of its power from renewable sources, including solar, clean coal and nuclear. It also wants to eliminate waste sent to landfill within 20 years, and devise more sustainable methods of water generation. A quick riffle through the statistics suggests this could be a tall order. The UAE has one of the largest carbon footprints in the world.
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There is enormous potential for rooftop solar outside the United States in markets with high insolation levels or favorable governmental policies
Jordan, with the most advanced solar market in the Middle East, provides an interesting contrast with Dubai. While Dubai provides significant subsidies to residential customers, Jordan cannot afford to subsidize electricity to the same extent. Since Jordan relies on expensive diesel generation, solar has already reached grid parity in most of the country. Banks, telecommunications companies and other consumers with high electricity consumption are incentivized to install solar panels as a result of high tariffs for electricity. Owners of distributed generation facilities can sell surplus power to the national transmission company and any of Jordan's three distribution companies..
Read article - click here
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(MASEN) - NOOR PV 1 Pre-qualification Document - deadline Sept 28th.
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Maha EL KADIRI
Responsable Communication
Adresse : Avenue Al Araar, Immeuble Extension CMR, 3ème étage
Hay Riad-Rabat-Maroc
Tel : 00 212 (0) 6 61 62 51 25
Email: m.elkadiri@masen.ma
The projects developed by Masen, as part of the multi-sites and multi-technologies NOOR Solar Plan, aim at producing a minimum total capacity of 2,000 MW by 2020, 510 MW of which have already been successfully launched in the NOOR Ouarzazate Solar Complex.
Masen maintains the dynamic initiated, by pursuing the development of the photovoltaic phase of NOOR (NOOR PV I) , with an aggregate capacity of approximately 170 MW, which includes the deployment of three solar plants:
NOOR Boujdour, with a maximum capacity of 20 MW ; NOOR Laayoune, with a maximum capacity of 80 MW ; NOOR Ouarzazate IV, with a maximum capacity70 MW, located in the NOOR Ouarzazate Solar Complex.
Such projects are to be developed under an IPP scheme (Independent Power Producer) consisting of the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the aforementioned solar plants.
Interested entities that meet the qualification criteria listed in the pre-qualification document are kindly invited to submit an application following the instructions stated in the "NOOR PV I Pre-qualification Document", available on: https://masen.local-trust.com
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PDO and GlassPoint to Build - One of the World's Largest Solar Plants
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One gigawatt solar project for oil production establishes oil industry as the next major market for solar energy
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the largest producer of oil and gas in Oman, and GlassPoint Solar, the leader in solar enhanced oil recovery (EOR), today announced plans to build one of the world's largest solar plants. Miraah (meaning mirror in Arabic) will be a 1,021 megawatt solar thermal facility in South Oman, harnessing the sun's rays to produce steam. The steam will be used in thermal EOR to extract heavy and viscous oil at the Amal oilfield. Miraah will deliver the largest peak energy output of any solar plant in the world. The scope of this landmark project underscores the massive market for deploying solar in the oil and gas industry. Read article - Click Here
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Kahramaa aims to transform Qatar into solar hub
 Qatar is set to be transformed into a a regional solar hub with its first solar power facility, according to the Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa).
The solar power station is expected to be operational by 2016, with a generation capacity of 10MW to 15MW. The facility, which will cover an area of more than 100,000m². will be located at Duhail.
Remarking on the announcement, Expotrade Middle East regional director Brad Hariharan said, "With ample amount of renewable resources at its disposal, the GCC region is harnessing the power of renewable energy technologies to its full potential. "The state of Qatar has set a benchmark with its implementation of massive innovative programmes in deploying large solar power plants."
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CONFERENCES & EXHIBITIONS
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Featured Event -
♦ Joining 150+ CSP players from whole industry chain organizations and companies, enjoying high level peer-to-peer networking
♦ Offering the full spectrum of information and outlook of CSP development in MENA, facilitating to solve puzzles and clear minds
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 | covering the latest technological trends and market developments worldwide.
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 | SolarUnited
Global Solar Business and Technology Association
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Solar GCC Alliance Jobs Portal
Solar Jobs * Qualified Candidates * GCC/MENA
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high-quality and informative articles, ees International - The Electrical Energy Storage Magazine
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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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