(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Saudi Arabia and the UAE top the list of the most-attractive markets in the Mena for Cleantech, according to the respondents of EY's Mena Cleantech Survey 2013. Markets such as Qatar, Jordan, Morocco and Egypt also showed significant potential.
Solar energy is seen as having the highest potential for growth across the Mena compared to other types of renewable energy.
The 2013 Mena Cleantech Survey 2013 was conducted in collaboration with the Clean Energy Business Council and Middle East Solar Industry Association. The survey respondents comprised of more than 150 executives from varied industries such as banking, utilities, manufacturing, project development, the public sector, academia and non-government organisations.
Nimer Abu-Ali, Mena Cleantech leader at EY, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE have large financial resources at their disposal for renewable investments. Although financing is a necessary resource to develop renewable energy, other aspects play a part in market attractiveness such as market size and socio-political conditions."
Saudi Arabia is expected to be the most-attractive market for the next decade because of its ambitious plans and the abundance of financial resources available to King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, or Kacare. The UAE is second on the list of attractive markets, mainly due to the long-term renewables strategies of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Mena Cleantech plans
Saudi Arabia plans to derive 10 per cent of its electricity from the sun by 2020 and up to 25 per cent by 2032. The country could conceivably become one of the heaviest users of solar energy in the world.
Saudi Arabia recently launched a white paper by the Kacare on its renewable procurement programme. It aims to be one of the largest sustained efforts of its kind globally, with 41GW of solar capacity to be installed by 2030. In the UAE, Dubai has completed the first 13MW phase of a 1,000MW solar park, which is part of the plan to generate five per cent of electricity through solar energy by 2030. Abu Dhabi-based Masdar has taken the 100MW Shams 1 project live, which is the largest concentrated solar power project in the Mena region. The emirate is also working on various other projects as part of the plan to generate seven per cent of its electricity needs with renewables by 2020.
As part of the Qatar National Vision 2030, the country has announced its first photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 150-200MW with an objective of generating 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and 1,800MW of renewable capacity by 2020.
Oman Power and Water Procurement has identified the potential for a 20MW wind farm in the south-western region of Oman's Dhofar Governorate as part of a study on the Sultanate's wind power resource. Morocco aims for renewables to account for 42 per cent of the generation mix by 2020. The power purchase agreement for the 160MW Ouarzazate CSP plant was signed in November 2012, and construction started in May. In August, seven consortia were shortlisted for the next 300MW of CSP capacity. The country currently also has over 700MW of wind capacity installed and over 1,000MW under construction or in planning.
Energy efficiency remains the top priority after solar energy as the cost of energy is still increasing across the Mena. In the GCC, energy efficiency, green buildings and water are particularly important areas due to climatic conditions, high energy consumption per capita, lack of fresh water resources and the link between water and energy through desalination. Wind energy is the second priority in North Africa following solar power due to the huge potential.
According to the survey respondents, solar energy has the highest potential for growth across Mena.
"People now have more confidence in solar energy across the Mena. Although most of the solar projects in Mena have applied photovoltaic technology, the respondents still believe concentrated solar power [CSP] is an equally-attractive technology. For the solar market in the Middle East to truly take place, we will need to see strong leadership from the key stakeholders within each of the key markets, notably Saudi Arabia, Morocco, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar," Abu-Ali said.
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