A new report released by the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) predicts that the Middle East will tender as much as 2,020 megawatts (MW) of solar energy projects over the course of 2016. As the region’s energy market is expected to be further stimulated this year due to the sharply decreased oil and gas prices, the report claims “2016 will be characterized by increasingly lower levelized costs of solar electricity.” Consequently, most Middle East countries will develop their renewable energy capacities simply because it increasingly makes economic sense. 2015 is described as a “groundbreaking year for solar in the Middle East” and a “tipping point for solar” in the Arabian Peninsula due to the record-low costs of electricity generation in large-scale “PV power plants,” or solar parks. Investments in solar projects across the Middle East region grew from around USD 160 million in 2010 to approximately USD 3.5 billion in 2015, a number that is expected to grow even further this year. MESIA predicts that these low costs will “rapidly change the perception of policymaker and industry leaders” when it comes to solar technology and it sees the Middle…
Over 2000MW of Solar Energy To Be Tendered in Middle East in 2016: Report
February 4, 2016
