As part of the recent announcement of the 6th Middle East and North Africa Solar Conference 2014 (MENASOL, 6-7 May, Dubai), PV Insider has produced "PV in MENA: Turning Policy into Projects," a guide providing detailed business intelligence on how to get projects developed.

London, UK 11 December 2013

As part of the recent announcement of the 6th Middle East and North Africa Solar Conference 2014 (MENASOL, 6-7 May, Dubai), PV Insider has produced "PV in MENA: Turning Policy into Projects," a guide providing detailed business intelligence on how to get projects developed.

With Jordan, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia all set to tender for large-scale PV within the next 12 months, the Middle East and North Africa region is exploding with opportunities. Jordan is in the final stages of negotiating PPAs from Round 1 and Qatar wil be installing over 200MW of large-scale roof-top PV in 2014. The markets have good long-term forecasts due to the growth in demand for solar to power industrial processes.

Desalination is an essential yet energy-intensive process required in the majority of markets in the Middle East, with 5% of the world's population having to survive on less than 1% of the world's fresh water supply available. Because of this, companies such as the Saudi Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Masdar, and many more are all creating pilot projects to test the performance of solar in powering the reverse osmosis element of desalination.

However, there are some serious challenges to getting projects developed in the region in both on-grid and off-grid sectors. A lack of data on cell performance in MENA means that it is difficult to build performance projections and calculate energy cost which in turn affects PPA negotiations, financing opportunities and plant profitability.

Projections are hard to compile because the climate in the region is markedly different from other places in the world. Strong winds can create dust storms and there are multiple forms of dust found in the region. Dust can severely impact the performance of a cell, reducing efficiency by as much as 25%. Temperatures can also reach 40 degrees Celsius and above which in turn can also negatively affect cells. Multiple companies and test centres are rigorously testing modules but it will be some time before data is released.

To help companies understand the hottest opportunities for large-scale PV in the region as well as the key means of overcoming these performance and financing challenges, PV Insider has published "PV in MENA: Turning policy into projects." The guide will give readers the following:

*The latest insight on the top markets for PV in Jordan, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia so you can create your future MENA strategy

*Detailed analysis on the opportunity for industrial and hybrid applications with insight from the Saudi Saline Water Conversion Corporation so you learn how to win new customers

*Comprehensive overview of how to overcome the biggest financing challenges in the region from The Clean Energy Business Council and MaC Group

The guide has been produced in conjunction with MENASOL, the 6th Middle East and North Africa Solar Conference & Exhibition focused on helping solar companies create an unbeatable proposal with the perfect combination of market insight and a robust desert plant design to win projects in MENA.

To download your free copy of "PV in MENA: Turning Policy into Projects," visit: http://www.pv-insider.com/menasol/content.php.