The new viability of solar power in the Middle East

As another blazing summer in the Middle East approaches its zenith, the region’s solar power industry is hotting up too. As it enters its second age, solar has reached the ignition point where it competes on economic viability alone. The first age of Middle East solar deployment was driven by small-scale pilots and some heavily subsidized larger projects such as Abu Dhabi’s 100 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant Shams 1. However, the emphasis was more on grand vistas than concrete projects. Saudi Aramco’s K.A.CARE (King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy) sketched a grand vision, or mirage, for 54 GW of renewable generation by 2032, including 16 GW of photovoltaics (PV) and 25 GW of solar thermal. From 2009, the Desertec Foundation sought to advance its dream of North African renewables supplying Europe. As reported in the MENA Renewables Status Report, every Middle East North Africa (MENA) country has developed a renewable energy target (though many remain aspirational). Having established Masdar, its clean energy vehicle, in 2006, Abu Dhabi successfully secured the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in June 2009