Middle East and North Africa remains hotbed of solar power development with more than 5,700 megawatts of capacity under development.
The Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) recently reported that eight countries in the region have more than 4,050 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power capacity under development. Adding concentration solar power capacity increases the pipeline to 5,700 megawatts.
MESIA notes that 885 megawatts capacity is currently operational across the region. 3,618 megawatts capacity is under construction. Projects being executed in Morocco, Egypt and United Arab Emirates (UAE) likely contribute the most in this segment.
Morocco has several solar power projects operational at its Noor-Ouarzazate complex. In the UAE, 100 megawatts Shams-1 CSP project is operational and remains the largest project in the country. Construction on 200 megawatts solar PV capacity at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is at full swing while construction on another 800 megawatts at the same park is expected to begin soon. A 350 megawatts solar PV project was awarded in Abu Dhabi; the project will be expanded to 1,200 megawatts in the near future.
Construction of 1,800 megawatts solar PV capacity is underway at Aswan, Egypt. Agreements by several foreign companies have been signed already.
Jordan is seeing increased activity in the solar power market with several projects under construction. The government there is planning to launch more tenders soon.
Smaller countries like Oman and Kuwait are also planning large-scale solar power projects.
The new entrant in the region’s solar power market will be Saudi Arabia. The country has announced plans to issue tender for 300 megawatts of solar power capacity soon.
