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2023 edition World Future Energy Summit The show in Abu Dhabi attracts most of the heavyweights in the Middle East renewable energy industry, as well as all the big solar module and inverter manufacturers from China. The event shows that pandemic disruptions and supply chain issues have not slowed demand in the region’s markets.
Official figures on the number of exhibitors and attendees were not released ahead of publication, but the size of the event has increased over past years, with some observers estimating it may have grown by as much as 50%. The nature of attendees has also changed, with more professionals involved in finding business opportunities.
Several projects in the Middle East have been postponed for several years, but they are now resuming work and slowly coming online. Markets such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also announcing new projects and large pipelines are being consolidated.
main market
However, local analysts have called for a conservative approach to these markets as they are driven by very low bids in energy auctions, with price pressures high. However, the market is trying to find a balance between low prices and supply chain volatility.
“We have always considered WFES as our strategy for the region in terms of products and technologies,” said Mohammed Saadi, head of technical services and product management at the Chinese module maker. JinkoSolar Tell pv magazine“This is our second edition and we’ve seen significant improvements. There are more global players and we’ve seen consultants and media as well.”
Demand is increasing across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Saadi said.
“We should be shipping 8 GW of solar modules in these markets this year and next,” he added, noting that the hottest markets for the utility-scale business are likely to be Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Morocco. “For distributed generation, the most interesting markets would be Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, where we shipped over 100 megawatts last year.”
Marwan Jaber, is solarMiddle East sales director told pv magazine The Chinese company received a lot of serious inquiries at the Abu Dhabi event.
“Even in some Middle Eastern regions where there is no regulation, demand is increasing and the residential business is changing now,” he said. “The most active market at the moment is Saudi Arabia, especially in the utility-scale segment, as well as commercial and industrial projects. “
He said Lebanon was also growing due to chronic energy shortages despite the country’s deep financial crisis.
“Solar power is the most reliable source of electricity right now,” Al Jaber said. “Yemen is also an interesting market in this regard.”
Bright Sun, Chief Marketing Officer of MEA&CA of LONGi, told pv magazine The module maker met new and existing customers at the Abu Dhabi event.
“We’re seeing an acceleration in the Middle East and North Africa market, and we’re also seeing companies from Central Asia and Africa participating in events here,” Sun added, claiming that demand for LONGi in the region will grow by two percent year-on-year by 2023. more than double.
“We have already signed a major project agreement in Saudi Arabia as well as in the UAE and Qatar,” he said.
Huawei marketing director Mohit Shrimal told pv magazine This year marks the fifth consecutive year that inverter manufacturers have participated in the Abu Dhabi event.
“It provides easy market access not only for the Middle East but also for Africa,” Shrimal said. “Despite technical challenges and chip shortages, inverter demand here is on the rise and we expect a fruitful five-year period.”
hydrogen hope
Mohammad Youssef, Spokesperson for Chinese Inverter Manufacturers Sungrowsaying the success of the Abu Dhabi event highlighted the “boom” of the market.
The utility-scale market will see strong growth this year, but we also expect decent growth in the distributed generation business,” he told pv magazine“We are also starting to ship energy storage systems for the first time, but their economic viability remains challenging compared to more mature markets such as the US and Europe.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the most promising markets, according to Ray Luiz, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at inverter maker TBEA. He noted that both string and central inverters are recognized throughout the Middle East. “It depends on the requirements of the client, but we tend to offer both solutions in all of these markets,” he said.
Spokesperson for the Austrian inverter manufacturer Fronius Indicates that distributors of photovoltaic products participated in the Abu Dhabi event.
“While volumes in the residential sector remain limited, we have been seeing strong demand from the C&I business,” a Fronius spokesman said. “It could become a big market in the next few years. and Lebanon’s most promising market.”
Given the UAE’s green hydrogen ambitions, it’s no surprise that Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ABSW), also held last week, put its Green Hydrogen Summit (GHS) at the forefront.
Fawaz Al Muharrami, executive director of Masdar Clean Energy, told pv magazine The company aims to have 100 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. About 25% of this will be used to produce green hydrogen (or its derivatives), with the goal of producing 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2050, he said.
But while green hydrogen was on the verge of becoming a buzzword before it became a booming market, at least one speaker at the ADSW Green Hydrogen Summit didn’t forget the key word – sustainable. Wale Shonibare, head of energy finance solutions, policy and regulation at the African Development Bank, said that when it comes to green hydrogen project development in Africa, “we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of fossil fuels,” adding that “local communities” also deserve consideration.
“The number one issue in Africa is energy access, so we need to integrate local communities into the value chain,” continued Shonibare, noting that green hydrogen provides African countries with a hard currency export market that can be used to develop local infrastructure.
In entertaining the enormous scope of a green hydrogen future and how it could help industry and fossil fuel-dependent economies transition away from carbon-intensive resources, it was interesting to note that the concept of “additionality” was also on the lips of attendees.
A tangential issue for the development of green hydrogen in developing regions such as sub-Saharan Africa is the water intensity of the inherent processes and how they affect already water-scarce regions.However, Dr. Faye Al Hersh, Head of Green Hydrogen Business Development at Masdar, told pv magazine The amount of water required for electrolysis is not as important as some people think.
“Most of the water needed for the green hydrogen production process is actually used for cooling, which doesn’t require desalinated water, which can be seawater, for example,” Al Hersh said.
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