The 2023 version of the World Future Vitality Summit in Abu Dhabi has attracted lots of the heavyweights of the renewables trade within the Center East, in addition to all the foremost producers of photo voltaic modules and inverters from China. . The occasion exhibits that pandemic disruptions and provide chain points haven’t dampened demand in regional markets.
Official figures on the variety of exhibitors and attendants weren’t launched earlier than publication, however the measurement of the occasion has elevated from earlier years, with some observers estimating that it might have grown by 50%. . The character of the attendees has additionally modified, with many professionals becoming a member of seeking enterprise alternatives.
Many initiatives within the Center East have been delayed in recent times, however now they’re being resumed and are slowly coming on-line. New initiatives have additionally been introduced and main pipelines are consolidating in markets comparable to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Primary markets
Nevertheless, native analysts name for a conservative method to those markets, as they’re pushed by very low bids in vitality auctions, with robust stress on costs. Nevertheless, the market is looking for a stability between low costs and the steadiness of the provision chain.
“We all the time contemplate WFES to develop our technique for the area by way of merchandise and know-how,” Mohammed Saadi, head of technical providers and product administration at Chinese language module maker JinkoSolar mentioned. pv journal. “That is our second version and now we have seen many enhancements. There are various gamers on the earth and now we have additionally seen consultants and media.
Saadi mentioned demand is rising throughout the Center East and North Africa (MENA) area.
“For this and subsequent yr, we must always ship as much as 8 GW of photo voltaic modules to those markets,” he added, noting that the most popular markets for the utility-scale enterprise could be Saudi Arabia, Emirates, Egypt, and Morocco. “For distributed technology segments, probably the most attention-grabbing markets ought to be Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen, the place final yr we despatched greater than 100 MW.”
Marwan Al Jaber, JA Photo voltaic’s gross sales director for the Center East, mentioned pv journal that the Chinese language firm has acquired many critical inquiries on the Abu Dhabi occasion.
“The demand is rising even in a few of the areas of the Center East the place there is no such thing as a regulation and there may be additionally now working the residential enterprise,” he mentioned. “Essentially the most lively market proper now’s Saudi Arabia, particularly for the utility scale section, in addition to for business and industrial initiatives.”
He mentioned Lebanon can be creating, regardless of a deep monetary disaster, resulting from power vitality shortages.
“Photo voltaic vitality is probably the most dependable supply of electrical energy immediately,” mentioned Al Jaber. “On this regard, Yemen can be an attention-grabbing market.”
Vivid Solar, the chief advertising and marketing officer of MEA&CA for Longi in China, mentioned pv journal that the module producer met new and outdated prospects on the Abu Dhabi occasion.
“We’re seeing the acceleration of the MENA market and we’re additionally seeing firms from Central Asia and Africa becoming a member of the motion right here,” added Solar, who claimed that demand within the area has greater than tripled yearly. for Longi in 2023.
“We have now already signed an settlement for a big undertaking with Saudi Arabia and likewise with the UAE and Qatar,” he mentioned.
Mohit Shrimal, advertising and marketing director of Huawei, mentioned pv journal which this yr would be the fifth consecutive yr that the inverter producer can have a presence on the occasion in Abu Dhabi.
“It affords simple market entry not solely within the Center East but additionally in Africa,” Shrimal mentioned. “Inverter demand right here is rising regardless of know-how challenges and chip shortages and we count on a fruitful five-year interval.”
Hope for hydrogen
Mohammad Youssef, a spokesman for Chinese language inverter maker Sungrow, mentioned the success of the Abu Dhabi occasion highlighted the “progress” of the market.
The market will see robust development within the utility-scale section this yr, however we additionally count on spectacular development within the distributed technology enterprise,” he mentioned. pv journal. “We’re additionally beginning to make the primary shipments for vitality storage methods however, in comparison with extra mature markets comparable to the USA and Europe, their financial viability stays difficult.
Ray Luiz, MENA regional director for inverter maker TBEA, mentioned Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the very best markets. He famous that string and central inverters are gaining acceptance all through the East. “It depends upon the shopper’s request, however now we have the likelihood to supply each options in all these markets,” he mentioned.
A spokesperson for Austrian inverter producer Fronius mentioned the Abu Dhabi occasion was effectively attended by PV product distributors.
“We proceed to see robust demand within the C&I enterprise, though the residential section stays restricted in volumes,” mentioned the Fronius spokesperson. “It can most likely turn out to be a giant market most likely within the subsequent two years. Jordan is Saudi Arabia which might be probably the most promising markets on this regard, in addition to Yemen and Lebanon.
Given the UAE’s inexperienced hydrogen ambitions, it’s no shock that the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ABSW), which additionally happened final week, gave satisfaction of place to the Inexperienced Hydrogen Summit (GHS).
Masdar Clear Vitality Government Director Fawaz Al Muharrami mentioned pv journal that the corporate goals for 100 GW of renewable capability by 2030. He mentioned that roughly 25% of this might be allotted to the inexperienced manufacturing of hydrogen (or its derivatives), with the goal of manufacturing 1 million tons of inexperienced hydrogen per yr by 2050.
However whereas inexperienced hydrogen is about to turn out to be a buzzword earlier than it turns into a booming market, at the very least one speaker on the ADSW Inexperienced Hydrogen Summit did not neglect the important thing phrase – sustainable. Wale Shonibare – the African Improvement Financial institution’s director of vitality monetary options, coverage and regulation – mentioned that relating to inexperienced hydrogen undertaking improvement in Africa, “we don’t wish to repeat the errors of fossil fuels, ” He added that “native. group” can be price contemplating.
“The No. 1 downside in Africa is entry to vitality, so we have to combine native communities into the worth chain,” continued Shonibare, who says inexperienced hydrogen affords in African international locations is a market to export arduous forex that can be utilized to develop native infrastructure.
Within the midst of entertaining the big scope of the way forward for inexperienced hydrogen and the way it might help hard-hit industries and economies that depend on fossil fuels to maneuver away from carbon-intensive sources, it’s attention-grabbing to notice that the idea of “extra” was additionally on the lips of the attendees.
A tangential concern to the event of inexperienced hydrogen in creating areas comparable to sub-Saharan Africa is the water depth of pure processes and the way this impacts areas which are already scarce. water. Nevertheless, Masdar’s head of enterprise improvement for inexperienced hydrogen, Dr. Faye Al Hersh, talking pv journal that the quantity of water required for electrolysis is just not as important as some individuals assume.
“A lot of the water wanted for the inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing course of is definitely for cooling, and it does not must be desalinated water, it may be sea water for instance,” mentioned Al Hersh.
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