Governments across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region are beginning to boost the amount of time and money they put into researching and implementing renewable energy projects to assist efforts to meet growing demand for electricity.

The Mena region is set to record an unprecedented growth in electricity demand in the coming years, with MEED Insight forecasting that the GCC alone will need to build an additional 171.7GW to reach 332.9GW by 2020, more than double the current installed capacity of 161.2GW.

Although only a small proportion of the region’s electricity is presently generated by renewable schemes, this is set to change over the next couple of decades as governments set increasingly ambitious targets for renewable energy capacity.

There are several different renewable energy technologies planned to be installed throughout the region, but the vast majority are solar, through a mix of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP). Due to the high levels of solar concentration and lack of reliable winds, the Gulf is particularly focused on solar power as its main renewable energy technology. The UAE is leading the way on this front, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai currently having the largest CSP and PV schemes operating in the region.

In March 2013, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) commissioned its 100MW Shams 1 solar power plant, which covers a total area of 2.5 square kilometres and contains more than 258,000 mirrors, mounted on 768 tracking parabolic trough collectors.

While the project has yet to run consistently at full capacity, the commissioning of the plant is a testament to Masdar’s renewable energy ambitions. The scheme is expected to reduce the UAE’s carbon emissions by about 175,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Barely seven months after Abu Dhabi commissioned its first major solar project, neighbouring Dubai began commercial operation of phase one of its Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Solar Park in October 2013. The 13MW first phase is the largest operating PV plant in the region, and the first step towards the ambitious 1,000MW target that Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has set for the scheme by the time it is completed. Dewa has prequalified 24 companies to participate in the tender for the 100MW PV second phase, which will be developed under a public-private partnership model, with bids due on 23 October.

Despite being later than most of its GCC neighbours to formulate its renewable energy programme, Kuwait is making swift progress with its maiden pilot renewable energy projects.

In March, its Central Tenders Committee approved the award of a KD139.1m ($494.3m) contract to Spain’s Cobra to build the first planned 50MW CSP plant for the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (Kisr). This was followed by the June approval of the contract to build a 10MW pilot wind project. Kisr, with the assistance of the Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW), is also developing a pilot 10MW PV solar plant. The pilot projects will be located at the Shagaya renewable energy park.

North Africa is set to offer great promise in the alternative power sector, with Morocco leading the way

While Kuwait’s initial projects are relatively small, the municipality and Kisr are currently working on a proposal for a mammoth 20GW renewable energy park, which would be located west of Kuwait City. Still in the very early stages, the renewable development would mainly focus on solar energy, although it is unclear at this stage whether it would be mostly CSP or PV technology.

Saudi Arabia has the Gulf’s biggest planned renewables programme, with Riyadh setting a target of producing 54GW of power through renewable energy projects by 2032; 23.9GW of this is scheduled to be commissioned by 2020. But while Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy programme is the most eagerly anticipated, it has also been the most disappointing to date, with very little progress made and the initial deadlines almost certainly to be missed.

Riyadh set up the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-Care) in 2010, and in February 2013 the body released its draft white paper detailing the planned procurement models for the initial 7GW, consisting of a mix of CSP, PV, wind, geothermal and waste-to-energy. However, since then there has been no further news on the first wave of projects.

It is widely accepted within Riyadh that a major stumbling block for the renewables programme has been that the newly created KA-Care is not adequately equipped to handle one of the most ambitious renewable energy programmes in the world, requiring hundreds of billions of dollars of investment.

According to sources in the kingdom’s energy sector, state oil major Saudi Aramco is likely to take over responsibility for the programme. The region’s renewable energy market will hope that Aramco’s proven track record in delivering big projects will ensure it fares better in pushing ahead with the ambitious programme.

Mecca Municipality is also planning to develop a solar project, having received bids from two consortiums in January 2013 to build a 100MW solar plant in the Western Province. However, this project has faced numerous delays as well and the client has still not awarded the contract. 

Despite the slow progress to date, the kingdom has the demand and resources to ensure that it will become a major player in the region’s renewable energy sector, even if it does not deliver all it has promised. The Electricity Co-Generation Regulatory Authority estimates that peak demand for electricity will reach 75GW in 2020 and 123GW by 2032, compared with 53.8GW in 2013.

With Egypt suffering from prolonged blackouts this summer … power projects must be a key priority

The remaining GCC states – Qatar, Bahrain and Oman – are further behind with their renewables plans, although all say they remain committed to integrating sustainable energy into their generation mix. Oman’s Public Authority for Electricity & Water is currently considering plans for a 200MW solar facility, while in June Qatar Solar Energy opened the region’s largest solar panel manufacturing facility at Doha Industrial Zone.

Outside the GCC, Jordan is pushing ahead with one of the region’s most comprehensive renewable energy programmes. In the first quarter of 2014, the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources (MEMR) approved 12 PV solar schemes for the first round of its direct proposal programme.

Under this programme, individual companies or joint ventures submit proposals for solar and wind projects, which will be implemented on a build-own-operate basis. Applicants selected by the government will receive memorandums of understanding (MOUs), allowing them to proceed with feasibility studies and measurement programmes before submitting proposals for final approval.

One of the biggest to be approved so far is the 52.5MW Shams Maan PV project, which is being developed by Shams Maan Power Generation Company. The project company has signed a 20-year power-purchase agreement with National Electric Power Company to buy electricity from the scheme. One of Amman’s main successes with its renewables strategy to date is that, aside from Iran, it is the first country in the Middle East to establish a feed-in tariff for sustainable energy projects, a cornerstone of any successful major renewables programme.

Jordan is also pushing ahead with significant plans for wind energy, and has received a $221m loan from the World Bank to support the development of a 117MW wind farm in Tafila.

Despite its successes, Jordan’s renewables programme has suffered from various setbacks in 2014, with the MEMR announcing in July that it was cancelling the third round of its direct proposal programme and delaying the second. While Amman has not provided any explanation for the scaling back of the programme, some of those involved have highlighted capacity constraints affecting both clients and the country’s electricity grid as possible explanations. Those within the renewables sector will be hopeful that the delay is only temporary, with Jordan set to offer numerous opportunities for local and international firms if it can proceed with its plans.

While several countries throughout the Gulf and Middle East have made progress with renewable energy plans in 2014, North Africa is also set to offer great promise in the alternative power sector, with Morocco leading the way.

In February, the UK’s EY was appointed financial adviser for the estimated $2.3bn second phase of the Ouarzazate solar power complex in southern-central Morocco. The phase includes the Noor 2 and Noor 3 projects, with a combined capacity of 300MW, which will make it the largest solar complex in the world once completed. The 160MW first phase is already under construction and prequalified consortiums are working on submissions for phase two.

In addition to the Ouarzazate solar project, Rabat is pushing ahead with an ambitious programme to oversee the development of five wind farms across the country with a total capacity of 850MW, which will add to existing renewables capacity. At the end of 2012, the country had 1,770MW of hydropower, 291MW of wind power and 20MW of solar power installed.

The projects are part of Morocco’s national energy strategy, which aims to see renewable energy form 42 per cent of installed generation capacity by 2020. Since 2008, Rabat has been rolling out legislation to support investment in alternative energy projects. One of the boldest moves the government has taken is the removal of fuel subsidies in early 2014, which it hopes will enable its renewable energy sector to flourish.

As Morocco moves forward with its ambitious renewable energy programme, Egypt is looking to follow the example of its fellow North African state. Cairo’s renewable energy plans have been disrupted by continued political unrest, but the Electricity Ministry and the New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) have remained committed to boosting the country’s renewable energy resources.

Having received expressions of interest from consultants in 2013, NREA was planning to tender and award the main construction contract for the 100MW Kom Ombo CSP plant in 2014. While the process has been delayed, there is still optimism that the scheme will go ahead and create the opportunity for a lucrative alternative energy market in the future, with the World Bank having pledged to finance $170m of the estimated $500m cost of the project.

The Egyptian government is also reportedly on the verge of signing a MOU with an international consortium to develop the first 800MW of a proposed 2,000MW solar project. With Egypt suffering from prolonged blackouts this summer, Cairo knows that moving ahead with power projects must be a key priority.

While solar and wind energy schemes make up the vast majority of the region’s renewable energy plans, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Kuwait are also planning to develop waste-to-energy projects, pioneering technology that converts municipal waste into electricity.

The most advanced scheme is in Abu Dhabi, where 17 companies submitted prequalification documents in 2013. Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) signed an MOU with the Centre of Waste Management Abu Dhabi for the joint development of the facility in June 2012, which will provide 100MW of power when completed.

With the Middle East and North Africa requiring an unprecedented new-build of power generation capacity in the next 20 years, governments are looking at new ways to achieve the targets.

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