Abu Dhabi: The drop in oil prices and the reduction in government budget will act as catalyst to boost the solar industry in the Middle East, the Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi based Enviromena Power Systems told Gulf News in an interview.

“We are going to see massive installations across the Middle East and North Africa. We see a tenfold increase in contracts over the next year for the whole industry,” said Sami Khoreibi.

He said solar is a lower cost displacement to the high cost energy that is being burnt today and the cut in subsidies will make it more attractive in the coming days.

“The drop in oil prices has had a positive impact on the solar industry. We see a massive increase in the amount of contracts and awarded projects in 2016.”

The company, along with TSK group from Spain, was awarded a contract to build a 103-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in Jordan’s southern region of Al Quweira last month.

Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is funding the $128 million (Dh470.14 million) solar plant through a grant from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

Morocco project

The company has built 45 solar power plants with a total capacity of 70 megawatts (MW) connected to power grids, with another 105MW of projects under construction.

“We are currently installing 12,500 solar home systems in Morocco. This to provide electricity to the last 2 per cent of Moroccan population that doesn’t have access to electricity. We intend to complete it in the second quarter.”

According to him, Saudi Arabia will be a big market if it opens up to the solar industry. “Saudi Arabia is going to one day be the largest solar market in the region. It is slower to move when compared to Jordan or the UAE. The low oil prices today may act as catalyst for the introduction of a solar programme,” he said.

Tender

The UAE is leading in the region with a number of projects. Dubai is targeting 3,000MW of solar power by 2030, which is 15 per cent of the overall energy mix.

Dubai Water and Electricity (Dewa) has a tender for building an 800MW plant and the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea) plans to build a 350MW solar plant at Sweihan, east of Abu Dhabi.

Masdar announced this week that they would develop a 200MW Solar plant in Jordan.

“There is more activity now than there has been ever before. Over the next couple of months, we expect to be putting our proposals and tenders for more projects than we have in the past seven years combined. That is the nature of the growth curve in the market today.” Khoreibi said.