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Sun on the Sand: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Turns to Solar Power
https://solarmagazine.com/sun-on-the-sand-middle-east-and-north-africa-mena-turns-to-solar-power/Sun on the Sand: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Turns to Solar Power
By Michael Calabrese - Mar 29, 2019
Oil wells dotting the landscape, giant super-tankers plying the waters through the Strait of Hormuz, unending miles of blue-grey solar panels stretching to the horizon in the desert… It makes for an incongruous image but the truth is, throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) solar power is moving forward as one huge project after another is built.
Taken together, MENA encompasses 22 nations. They’ve got 6% of the world’s population – and 60% of its oil (along with 45% of its natural gas). As a group, their national economies, and most certainly their leaders, are deeply vested in the fossil fuel industry – the main generator of carbon and the driving force of climate change. It fills their treasuries, makes them financial powerhouses in the world market, and threatens their countries. All the same, the nations of the Middle East appear.
Climate change is a greater threat across the MENA states than in most places. The impacts have be a reality of daily life for years, even if it’s only being recognized now. While most of us support the growth of solar power and alternative technologies to reduce atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases, (a worthy cause), all across the Middle East, they’ve got a more immediate need – water. The scarcity of fresh water resources is endemic. The shortfall is everywhere and these are primarily young countries. They have a lot of children and between their population growth and huge numbers of imported workers, the demand for water and power grows every year. Massive desalinization plants ring the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Powering them with fossil fuels makes up 50% of their operating costs. MENA is home to over 46% of our world’s desalinization capacity. Enter solar power. Water in the Middle East is a huge market for solar power.
Solar power is on the rise everywhere in the Middle East. According to the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA), by the end of 2018, there was more than 12,000 MW in solar projects in operation, under construction or awarded throughout the region. Many of these installations are or will be bi-facial installation, increasing production by up to 15%.
…
By Michael Calabrese - Mar 29, 2019
Oil wells dotting the landscape, giant super-tankers plying the waters through the Strait of Hormuz, unending miles of blue-grey solar panels stretching to the horizon in the desert… It makes for an incongruous image but the truth is, throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) solar power is moving forward as one huge project after another is built.
Taken together, MENA encompasses 22 nations. They’ve got 6% of the world’s population – and 60% of its oil (along with 45% of its natural gas). As a group, their national economies, and most certainly their leaders, are deeply vested in the fossil fuel industry – the main generator of carbon and the driving force of climate change. It fills their treasuries, makes them financial powerhouses in the world market, and threatens their countries. All the same, the nations of the Middle East appear.
Climate change is a greater threat across the MENA states than in most places. The impacts have be a reality of daily life for years, even if it’s only being recognized now. While most of us support the growth of solar power and alternative technologies to reduce atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases, (a worthy cause), all across the Middle East, they’ve got a more immediate need – water. The scarcity of fresh water resources is endemic. The shortfall is everywhere and these are primarily young countries. They have a lot of children and between their population growth and huge numbers of imported workers, the demand for water and power grows every year. Massive desalinization plants ring the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. Powering them with fossil fuels makes up 50% of their operating costs. MENA is home to over 46% of our world’s desalinization capacity. Enter solar power. Water in the Middle East is a huge market for solar power.
Solar power is on the rise everywhere in the Middle East. According to the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA), by the end of 2018, there was more than 12,000 MW in solar projects in operation, under construction or awarded throughout the region. Many of these installations are or will be bi-facial installation, increasing production by up to 15%.
…
