EQ iSearch Report on Middle East Solar Industry Sept 2021

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Con t ent Introduction to Middle East Solar PV Industry………………………………………………………………………………....… 08 Saudi Arabia.......................................... ………………………………………………………………………………………………....10 Solar PV Tender ………………………………………………………………………………………………...........................……….10 Solar PV Projects.................. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11 Installed Power Mix Capacity....................................………………………………………………………………………….12 Policy and Framework..............................................................................................................................13 Transmission and Distribution................................................................................................................14 United Arab Emirates (UAE)........................................................................................................................15 Solar PV Installed Capacity......................................................................................................................16 Solar PV Projects.......................................................................................................................................17 Policy & Regulation..................................................................................................................................17 Solar Park in Dubai...................................................................................................................................18 Abu Dhabi Solar Independent Power Scheme.......................................................................................18 Jordon............................................................................................................................................................20 Policy & Regulation...................................................................................................................................22 Solar PV Projects........................................................................................................................................23 Israel..............................................................................................................................................................24 Solar PV Project.........................................................................................................................................25 Power Mix..................................................................................................................................................25 Policy & Regulation..................................................................................................................................26 Iran................................................................................................................................................................27 Power Mix by May 2021.............................................................................................................................28 Renewable Mix...........................................................................................................................................28 Policy & Regulations..................................................................................................................................29 Solar PV Projects........................................................................................................................................29 Iraq................................................................................................................................................................30 Investment In Solar Pv .............................................................................................................................31 Oman............................................................................................................................................................33 Power Mix...................................................................................................................................................33 Power Demand and Projection.................................................................................................................34 Renewable Energy Development Plan....................................................................................................34 Policy and Regulation................................................................................................................................35 Kuwait..........................................................................................................................................................36 Other Middle East Countries......................................................................................................................38 Lebanon....................................................................................................................................................38 Palestine...................................................................................................................................................41 Policy and Regulation..........................................................................................................................42 Solar Tariff.............................................................................................................................................42 Bahrain.....................................................................................................................................................43 Qatar .........................................................................................................................................................44 Conclusion for the Middle East Solar PV Market.......................................................................................45

Ab br ev ia tion ADFD......................................................................Abu Dhabi Fund for Development ADPC.....................................................................Abu Dhabi Power Cooperation AED........................................................................United Arab Emirates dirham BOO.......................................................................Build Own Operate CSP.........................................................................Concentrated Solar Power DEWA...................................................................Dubai Electricity and Water Authority OWNER : DSP........................................................................Distribution Service Provider FirstSource Energy India Private ECRA.....................................................................Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority Limited (EQ Int'l) EDL........................................................................Electricite du Liban www.EQ-MEA.com EPC........................................................................Engineering, procurement, and construction ERC........................................................................Electricity Regulatory Commission EDITOR & CEO : EWEC.................................................................... Emirates Water & Electricity Company ANAND GUPTA anand.gupta@EQmag.net GW........................................................................ Gigawatt IPP......................................................................... Independent Power Producer TRENDS & ANALYSIS KACARE................................................................King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy SAUMYA BANSAL GUPTA saumya.gupta@EQmag.net KAHRAMAA.........................................................Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation KAPP......................................................................Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects HEAD SALES & MARKETING : KAPSARC..............................................................King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre BHANU YADAV KSA....................................................................... Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sales@EQmag.net KWh......................................................................Kilowatt hour MANAGER MARKETING : LCEC......................................................................Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation GAZALA KHAN hayat@EQmag.net LCGPA...................................................................Local Content & Government Procurement Author-ity MBR.....................................................................Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum GRAPHICS & LAYOUT : MEIM...................................................................Ministry of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources

RATNESH JOSHI MEMR..................................................................Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources MOE.....................................................................Ministry of Electricity CHARTS & TABLES DESIGN : MOEI....................................................................Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure

ABHISHEK SARAI MW.......................................................................Megawatt SUBSCRIPTIONS : MWh....................................................................Megawatt-hour RISHABH CHOUHAN NEEREA...............................................................National Energy Efficiency and Renewable rishabh.eqmag.net@gmail.com Energy Disclaimer, Limitations of Liability NREP.....................................................................National Renewable Energy Program While every effort has been made to ensure the high quality and accuracy of NREP.....................................................................National Renewable Energy Program EQ international and all our research with the greatest of care and attention, OPWP....................................................................Oman Power and Water Procurement we make no warranty concerning its content, and the report is provided on an>> as is <<basis. EQ international contains advertising and third–party conCompany tent. EQ International is not liable for any third-party content or error, omission PDO.......................................................................Petroleum Development Oman or inaccuracy in any advertising material, nor is it responsible for the availability of external websites or their contents PENRA..................................................................Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources The data and information presented in this report are provided for informational Authority purpose only, neither EQ INTERNATIONAL, its affiliates, Information providers PETL......................................................................Palestinian Electricity Transmission nor content providers shall have any liability for investment decisions based upon or the results obtained from the information provided. Nothing contained in this Company Ltd report should be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. The PIF..........................................................................Public Investment Fund facts and opinions stated in this report do not constitute an offer on the part of EQ PIF..........................................................................Palestinian Investment Fund International for the sale or purchase of any securities, nor any such offer intended or implied PPA........................................................................Power Purchase Agreement Restriction on use PV...........................................................................Photovoltaic The material in this report is protected by international copyright and trademark laws. You may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, post, transmit or distribute any REEEO....................................................................Energy and Energy Efficiency part of the report in any way. You may only use the material for your personnel, NonOrganisation Commercial use, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices.

REPDO...................................................................Renewable Energy Project Development want to use the material for any non-personnel, non-commercial purpose, you need written permission from EQ International.

Office RFQ........................................................................Requests for Qualification SEA........................................................................Sustainable Energy Authority SPPC......................................................................Saudi Power Procurement Company SUNREF.................................................................Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance TWh.......................................................................Terawatt-hour WERA....................................................................Water & Electricity Regulatory Authority

Introduction

T

he installed Solar Power capacity by 2020 in the middle east countries has crossed the 7 GW mark, UAE Kingdom was the leader among the middle eastern region in terms of solar installed capacity followed by Israel, Jordan which have installed over a GW of Solar in their country. In the Middle East region, countries are coming forward in reaching their renewable energy goals, and many new investments are coming into the region due to demand in the renewable space. In its effort to create solutions to reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy security, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre (KAPSARC) explores in a recent Data Insight publication, entitled “Trends in Global Solar PV Installation,” that the total global capacity of solar photovoltaics (PV) installations increased 80 times in 13 years from 2007 to 2019, equivalent to 627 GW at the end of 2019. This capacity equates to about 2.8% of global electricity gen-

eration. Many countries want to reduce their dependency on fossil fuel sources of electricity generation and shift towards renewable especially Solar. Distributed solar playing an important role by allowing the residential, commercial, and industrial customers to go for solar who are not able to take part in the largest utilityscale projects. Even in a few of the Middle East countries, the goal of introducing rooftop solar is to boost the local installers, components manufacturers as they are claiming that the utility-scale projects are being dominated by foreign companies starting from winning the tenders to funding as well as designing, procur-

in MWs

ing the equipment and commission the projects are being done through a foreign entity, at the end they took away the profit share to their host countries. Many new small tenders are being funded by the government, but due to delays in the distributions of funds, many installers are going bankrupt, even few are in the mid of the projects for few months and not able to execute due to lack of funds availability.

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There is a lot of potential for solar power capacity in the Middle Eastern region due to 365 sunny days, even the irradiations level is excellent. But due to proper policy, regulation many of the Middle East countries still lacking solar installations. Again, 2020 was a bad year due to the COVID pandemic, many of the countries in the region were not able to commission good capacity of solar projects, and even a few countries have not commissioned any capacity. But the sun is rising again in the Middle East and many projects which were under development stage or stuck due to pandemic are going to get commissioned in 2021.

Solar PV Installed Capacity in Middle East

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SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia is rich in sunlight and has one of the best direct irradiation resources in the world. The country has targeted to install above 40 GW of Solar Pv Power capacity by 2032, along with 16 GW of Wind Turbines and 2.7 GW from Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), according to the kingdom’s Ministry of Energy. The kingdom announced the goal of producing 50 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.

By the end of 2020, the country had a total renewable energy capacity of 412.7 MW, with more than 99% coming from Solar projects. The country is thriving in its strategy towards sustainability, reduced dependency on oil, and diversification of its energy mix and economy. The target of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) is to install 27.3 GW by 2024 and 58.7 GW by 2030, which includes 40 GW of Solar PV and 2.7 GW of CSP.

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Saudi Arabia has recently signed a PPA for seven new Solar PV projects of around 2,970 MW such as the 1,500 GW Sudair project, codeveloped by PIF (Public Investment Fund - Sovereign wealth fund owned by Saudi Arabia) and ACWA Power; implemented by an ACWA Power-led consortium. L&T secured the EPC contract for the project who will commission the project in 2022, 600 MW Shuaibah project, is a consortium of ACWA Power, Gulf Investment, and Al Babtain contracting, 300 MW Jeddah project, a consortium of Masdar, EDF, and Nesma, 300 MW Rabigh project, a consortium of Marubeni and Aljumaih. 200 MW Qurayyat project, a consortium of ACWA Power, Gulf Investment, and Al Babtain contracting, 50 MW Al Madinah project, is a consortium of Al Blagha, Alfanar, and Desert Technologies. While the 20 MW Rafha project is a consortium of Al Blagha, Alfanar, and Desert Technologies.

Also, 400 MW of Wind Project at Dumah Al Jandal city going to be commissioned by 2022, has reached 50% completion in the second quarter of 2021, it’s a consortium led by EDF Renewables and Masdar.

The country has not commissioned any solar project in the calendar year 2020 due to falling tariff prices in the oil kingdom, and the ongoing pandemic.

SOLAR PV TENDER The Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO), of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources launched its first requests for qualifications (RFQ) for the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) in February 2017 with Vision 2030’s goals which include creating a new renewable industry and support the build-up of the renewable sector. In April 2017, REPDO shortlists 27 Companies for its 300 MW Solar Project in Sakaka and 24 Companies for its 400 MW Wind Project in Dumah Al Jandal as such more than 120 companies submitted statements for qualification.

In August 2019, REPDO and the Ministry of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources (MEIM) issued the request for proposal (RFP) for Round Two of the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP). Following the issuance of RFP for four ‘Category B’ solar projects, the six Round two projects will see a total solar PV capacity of 1.47 GW tenders to qualified companies.

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Projects within Round two was carrying a minimum requirement of 17% local content as calculated by the mechanisms defined by the Local Content & Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA), which aims to increase the value-added contribution of products and services in the national economy.

The six projects being tendered within Round Two represent the first half of REPDO’s 2019 project development pipeline. A further six projects were tendered by the last quarter of 2019 and constitute Round Three of the NREP.

Solar PV Tenders in Saudi Arabia

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Again, in January 2020 REPDO had issued the RFQ for Round Three of the Kingdom’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) which was comprised of four Solar PV projects with a combined generation capacity of 1,200 MW. Round Three projects were divided into two categories: “Category A” which targets smaller companies, includes Layla 80 MW Solar PV and Wadi Al Dawaser 120 MW Solar PV projects, while “Category B” includes Saad 300 MW Solar PV and Ar Rass 700 MW Solar PV projects. Round Three will carry a minimum requirement of 18% local content as calculated by the mechanisms defined by the Local Content & Government Procurement Authority, which aims to increase the value-added contribution of products and services in the national economy.

A total of 83 applications of which, a total of 49 companies have been pre-qualified for lead roles, including 28 local Saudi companies.

Pre-qualified companies will now proceed to the RFP stage as either a managing member and/or technical member and/or local managing member (the latter only applying to Round Three ‘Category A’ projects).

All projects tendered by the Ministry of Energy are 100% independent power producers (IPPs) backed by 25-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) as off-taker. Since its inception, the Ministry of Energy, through the NREP, has pre-developed and tendered 2,170 MW of renewable energy capacity in the Kingdom, of which 700 MW was awarded in 2019 and a further 1,470 MW was supposed to be awarded in 2020.

SOLAR PV PROJECTS In the past, Belectric and Sun & Life (ACWA Holding) had commissioned 10 MW at the carport of the North Park office of Saudi Aramco in Dhahran.

King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy (KACARE) helps the country to set up a 10 MW solar PV project in Yanub Industrial City.

Recently in April 2021, 300 MW of Sakaka IPP project got commissioned in Sakaka City, Al Jouf Province. It was commissioned by ACWA Power (70%) and AlGihaz’s subsidiary AlGihaz Renewable Energy Company (30%).

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In 2021, the data is added as of April, as 300 MW Sakaka IPP in Sakaka city got commission in Al Jouf province of Saudi Arabia.

Source: IRENA

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INSTALLED POWER MIX CAPACITY As of Q2 2021, Saudi installed Solar PV projects of above 700 MW, which includes the recently commissioned project of 400 MW Sakaka Solar PV project in Al Jouf Province. Wind Power installed capacity was 3.3 MW, 400 MW of Windfarm at Dumah Al Jandal city were 50% completed and the full completion timeline is 2022. Still, more than 99% of the power mix was contributed from non-renewable sources of energy.

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Due to the Covid situation and tariff issue, none of the renewable projects got commissioned in 2020, but in 2021 one Solar project in Sakaka got commissioned, and Wind projects will get commissioned by 2022.

POLICY AND FRAMEWORK Round Three projects will carry a minimum requirement of 18% local content as calculated by the mechanisms defined by the Local Content & Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA), which aims to increase the value-added contribution of products and services in the national economy.

The Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA) launched a regulatory framework for addressing households and smallscale solar distribution systems connected to the utility grid. Introduction of net billing and a cap for each Solar system’s capacity per facility ranging from 1 kW to 2 MW. However, the total installed small-scale Solar PV system capacity may not exceed 15% of a substation’s transformer rated capacity. This came into effect on July 1, 2020.

30 percent of the resources required to complete the solar project must be sourced locally, creating demand for employees, finance, and components locally.

Distribution Service Provider (DSP) shall provide the Net Billing arrangement to all Eligible Consumers provided that the Small-Scale Solar PV Systems aggregated capacity to be allowed in parallel with the Distribution System shall not exceed 3% of the preceding year peak load of the power system within the distribution operating area.

Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA) could have a positive impact on the Kingdom’s solar commercial and industrial (C&I) sector. The key elements of the framework are that exported electricity is planned to be credited to the monthly electricity bill of the Solar-powered facility owner.

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TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION The number of substations in the kingdom has increased from 570 in 2007 to 1,134 by 2019, due to a surge in the demand. The quantity of transformers becomes double in 2019 from 2009.

Year

Number of substations

Number of Transformers

Capacity of Transformers (MVA)

2007 2008

570 586

1,644 1,690

1,48,087 1,53,414

609 642 642 704 747 817 873 937 1,004 1,083 1,134

1,758 1,845 1,875 1,892 2,039 2,289 2,525 2,761 3,001 3,285 3,477

1,61,229 1,76,090 1,73,531 1,90,134 2,12,324 2,45,689 2,87,290 3,28,249 3,71,364 4,17,203 4,41,058

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Source: WERA, Saudi Arabia

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Even the introduction of renewable especially Solar surge the need for the transformer capacity. As more than 3 GW of Solar PV projects is in the tenders and auctions pipeline along with wind projects, this will also create the demand for the transformer capacity.

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The kingdom is showing aggressiveness towards Solar PV projects in the country, King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy has launched training programs to teach the design and installation of small-scale Solar systems, this move will drive the country greener, more sustainable future of its program for vision 2030. This will help the kingdom to reduce their oil consumption for the generation of electricity, where the fuel makes up more than 40% of their electricity mix. The country is also looking for green hydrogen, which shall be produced using power generated from Solar PV Plant.

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) UAE has installed Solar PV capacity of around 2.5 GW by 2020. The world’s largest solar plant of 1,177 MW, which was jointly developed by the Jinko, Marubeni Corp., and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), was commissioned in 2019 at Sweihan in Abu Dhabi.

At nearly double the size of Noor Abu Dhabi, 2 GW Photovoltaic Plant in Al Dhafra, this new solar Photovoltaic (PV) plant will reinforce Abu Dhabi as a leader in solar PV plant size and efficiency. The new plant is set for completion in the second quarter of 2022 providing up to 110,000 households with electricity and will reduce CO2 emissions by 1.6 million metric tons/year equivalent to removing 330,000 cars from the road. Abu Dhabi PV3 (1.5 GW), Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Phase IV (950 MW), and MBR Phase V (900 MW)– all of these projects are on various stages of development will help to achieve the country renewable energy target.

UAE Power Mix Target by 2050

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UAE launched ‘Energy Strategy 2050’, which is considered the first unified energy strategy in the country that is based on supply and demand. The strategy aims to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25 percent to 50 percent by 2050 and reduce the carbon footprint of power generation by 70 percent, thus saving AED 700 billion ($190.603 billion) by 2050. It also seeks to increase the consumption efficiency of individuals and corporates by 40 percent. The strategy targets an energy mix that combines renewable, nuclear, and clean energy sources to meet the UAE’s economic requirements and environmental goals such as 44 percent renewable energy, 38 percent natural gas, 12 percent clean fossil fuel, and 6 percent from nuclear energy. The strategy also aims to change the energy consumption culture by slashing residential energy consumption by 40 percent. The UAE government aims to invest AED 600 billion ($163.374 billion) by 2050 to meet the growing energy demand and ensure sustainable growth for the country’s economy.

This new energy strategy takes into consideration an expected annual growth of 6 percent and will work on increasing the contribution of clean energy in the energy mix from 25 percent to 50 percent by 2050 while slashing carbon footprint during power generation by 70 percent over the next three decades. This strategy will be implemented in three phases. The first phase aims to accelerate the efficient consumption of energy as well as diversifying and securing it. The second phase will find new solutions that integrate with energy and transportation solutions. The third phase will focus on research and development in addition to innovation and creativity to supply sustainable energy.

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SOLAR PV INSTALLED CAPACITY UAE has installed above 2.5 GW of Solar PV capacity by 2020, there was an annual growth of above 400% in 2019, and 156% in 2020 comparison with 2018 just after the launch of a new energy strategy for 2050 to meet the growing energy demand and ensure sustainable growth in the country’s economy.

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In April 2021, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry signed an agreement to explore the opportunities in the field of hydrogen development. The agreement will expand the joint areas of collaboration and enhance investment in the hydrogen sector. The approach is to develop the scope of strategic partnership between the two countries in terms of their pursuit of global leadership in the field of clean energy, and enhancing the opportunities for growth and development in relying on hydrogen as a clean source of energy. This partnership aims to intensify the efforts to enhance investment opportunities in the field of hydrogen and promote work on developing technologies and reducing costs for green and blue hydrogen production.

SOLAR PV PROJECTS

In December 2020, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) alongside partners Masdar, EDF Renewables, and Jinko Power announced the successful financial closing of the Al Dhafra Solar Project of 2 GW whose commissioning date is set in the first half of 2022.

This project received financing from seven international banks.

In June 2019, EWEC has announced that ‘Noor Abu Dhabi’, the world’s largest single solar project, with a capacity of 1,177MW, has started commercial operation in Abu Dhabi, is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi Power Corporation and a consortium of Japan’s Marubeni Corp and China’s Jinko Solar Holding.

In 2018, Aramex has partnered with IMG Solar to inaugurates a 3.2 MW of solar rooftop plant for its new logistics facility in Dubai. This was the largest single rooftop Solar PV plant project in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and one of the largest solar photovol-

taic plants connected to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) grid under its “Shams Dubai” initiative.

In March 2017, Shuaa Energy 1 got commissioned was led by consortium ACWA Power and Spain’s TSK Electronica y Electricidad with an estimated project cost of around $326 million. ACWA has awarded this project with a tariff of 5.84 cents/kWh over 25 years with DEWA.

POLICY & REGULATION In January 2020, DEWA introduced changes to the Shams Dubai net metering scheme which was introduced in 2015. The announcement included changes in regulations to no longer include ground-mounted solar projects under the scheme and a cap of 2,080 kW was set for solar rooftop installations, putting a hold on many projects for C&I and other institutions.

In July 2020, all public shares in Abu Dhabi’s energy and water assets were transferred by Abu Dhabi Power Cooperation (ADPC) to TAQA (Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC), creating a vertically integrated utility (conventional and renewable energy production, transport, and distribution). The Emirate’s ambition is to turn TAQA into a major player in the international energy sector.

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SOLAR PARK IN DUBAI In January 2021, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the launch of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

The 13 MW 1st phase became operational on 22 October 2013, comprising around 152,000 photovoltaic cells, connected to 13 transformers in inverter buildings. On 20 March 2017, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the 200 MW photovoltaic 2nd phase EQ iSearch of the solar park, which is the largest and first project of its kind in the region, based on the IPP model. In June 2016, DEWA announced the

selection of the Masdar-led consortium as the best bidder to develop the 800 MW third phase of the solar park. DEWA also set a world record by obtaining the lowest price of 2.99 cents/kWh for the third phase of the park, based on the IPP model. On 16 September 2017, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. On 3 November 2018, DEWA signed an amendment to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to add 250 MW of photovoltaic solar panels. DEWA recently issued a Request for Qualification (RFQ) for developers to build and operate the 5th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, with a capacity of 900 MW. The phase will use photovoltaic solar panels based on the IPP model. It was going to be commissioned in stages starting from a quarter second of 2021, but due to the covid situation, the commissioning date has got extended.

ABU DHABI SOLAR INDEPENDENT POWER SCHEME Emirates Water & Electricity Company (EWEC) is seeing to invite firm to bid for third solar photovoltaic IPP project in Abu Dhabi. The first two schemes were a 1,170 MW Solar PV IPP project at Sweihan know as Noor Abu Dhabi and a 2 GW Al-Dhafra Solar IPP.

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Noor Abu Dhabi got commissioned in June 2019, while for Al-Dhafra 2 GW EWEC is looking forward to signing the PPA and delivering the project in Q2 2022. The UAE government, in its 2050 plans, has announced a wide range of industrial, commercial, building sector, and residential initiatives to foster and develop efficiency measures. These include the introduction of a countrywide green building code certification program. All these initiates will help the country to achieve 50% of their electricity consumption from renewable sources of energy especially Solar.

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JORDON Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Jordan, is raising the share of the renewable energy mix to 31 percent by 2030, especially through the capacity of the under-construction Solar and Wind Energy projects. Solar and Wind are the main non-conventional source of energy, the market share of installed capacity from renewable sources in Jordan grew to over 30% by 2020. The country has established the necessary policies and regulations to support renewables, including Solar PV and on-shore wind development. Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources release the energy strategy for 2020-2030. The Strategy aims at diversifying energy forms, increasing the contribution of indigenous energy sources, improving energy efficiency in all sectors, and reducing the impact of energy costs on the national economy, making Jordan a regional hub for all forms of energy exchange. The Strategy also calls for Jordan to be self-reliant, to reduce energy costs for local consumers, to diversify and increase reliance on local energy sources, and reduce energy imports. One of the primary objectives of the strategy is to improve energy efficiency by strengthening national energy efficiency legislation and the implementation of plans. The Strategy targets to increase the proportion of electricity generated from local sources from 15% in 2019 to 48.5% in 2030. The energy efficiency of all sectors will increase by 9 percent in 2030 compared to 2018, and that of the water sector by 15 percent in 2025. One of the most important targets of the Strategy is to reduce carbon emissions by 10%. The Strategy states that Jordan does not need to produce more electricity from traditional sources, also Nuclear Energy is not a part of the strategy. The strategy plans to increase renewable energy’s share of the entire energy mix from 11% in 2020 to 14 percent by 2030. Jordan has performed exceptionally well in this respect. Jordan achieved a remarkable breakthrough in the period 2015-2020 by raising renewable energy’s contribution from 2 percent to 11 percent.

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Solar installation in the country is among the top priority from the renewable source of energy, follow by Wind Energy which has installed over 500 MW by 2020, there are two under development wind projects of 103.5 MW in Tafilah city of Jordan which has commissioning due date in 2021. There is also a 50 MW Solar project which is under construction located in Ma’an city developing by Philadelphia Solar. In April 2020, government representatives confirmed the cancellation of a 30 MW/60 MWh energy storage tender. First announced in February 2018, had 23 interested parties eligible to submit the bids. The project was supposed to help integrate the output of several large-scale solar PV plants in the city of Ma’an. Jordan might be waiting for the lithium-ion batteries price to decrease as how other countries are waiting.

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The yearly installations in Jordan have shown positive growth among the other countries in the Middle East. There is a year-over-year growth of 23% in 2020, which is again a positive move compared to other top solar installations countries in the region, and a commitment towards the renewable source of energy.

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Wind Power is the second most source of renewable energy in the country, where over 500 MW of wind farms has been installed by 2020.

Among the total installed power capacity in the country, Solar contributes over 20% of the total installed capacity, while the installed capacity of wind Power crossed 500 MW, installed capacity from Hydro, was just 16 MW and contributes less than 1 percent among the total installed capacity in the kingdom of Jordan.

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POLICY & REGULATION The wheeling of electrical energy generated from renewable energy sources systems for its consumption issued by the Council of Commissioners of the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, to manage the integration into the grid with increasing shares of renewables, the government decided in early-2019 to put a hold on net metering and net wheeling projects above 1 MW. During 2020, no changes occurred but several exemptions were granted for C&I projects due to an economic need to decrease their operational costs.

Regulating Procedures and Means of Conserving Energy and improving its efficiency where the general policy of energy conservation and improvement of its efficiency has been introduced. It also asks to encourage investment in the field of conserving energy and improving the efficiency of its use, monitoring energy audit procedures and implementation of systems and activities related to conservation of energy and improving the efficiency of its use, submit to the Cabinet about dates of summer and winter daylight saving time, spread national awareness in the field of conservation of energy and improvement of its efficiency, also establish a database related to conservation of energy and improvement of its efficiency.

Multi-purpose electricity meters shall be endorsed for measuring energy consumption and time of the same for purposes of introducing day and night tariffs as well as peak tariffs, according to the directions to be issued by the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) to this end.

Retail suppliers licensed by (ERC) shall be obliged to replace single-purpose electricity meters with multiple-purpose electricity meters within a period not exceeding seven (7) years from the date of this Act's effectiveness.

Instructions for the sale of electric power generated from renewable energy sources, A user who has a one-phase subscription may install and use renewable energy sources systems that cannot exceed his monthly consumption rate for the previous year from the date of submitting the request for linkage to renewable energy sources. The user of the new one-phase subscription may install and use renewable energy sources systems and cannot exceed the electric load that the distributor estimates. This subscriber shall provide written evidence to the distribution company and prove that the facility is for the actual consumption of electrical energy.

A user who has a three-phase low voltage subscription may install and use renewable energy sources systems that cannot exceed the actual consumption rate of the previous year. The user of the new three-phase subscription may install and use renewable energy sources systems that cannot exceed the electric load that the distributor estimates, provided that the subscriber submits written evidence to the distribution company and proves that the facility is for its actual consumption of electrical energy.

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TARIFF OF SELLING ELECTRICITY Source of Renewable Energy Solar Energy Hybrid Sources Other Sources

Tariff (Fils/kWh) 120 95 85

Source: EMRC, Jordan

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SOLAR PV PROJECTS

In October 2018, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy inaugurated the Mafraq I and Empire photovoltaic solar plants of 50 MW each total 100 MW. The solar plants represent a total investment of $180 million.

In December 2020, the 200 MW Baynouna Solar project in Amman city started its operation, the total project cost for this plant was somewhere around $260 million, Masdar has signed PPA with National Electric Power Company, Jordan’s state electricity provider, and will generate 563.3 GWh of electricity every year.

In July 2018, Spain’s TSK and Abu Dhabi-based EPC provider Enviromena Power Systems had announced the completion of Jordan’s largest solar PV power plant of 103 MW in Quweira, Al-Quwayrah. At the time of operation, the project was owned by the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR), and funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).

The country's renewable capacity is increasing at a very positive rate, but the country needs to enhance its grid infrastructure to integrate more renewable power into the network. By the 2020-2030 energy strategy, the country will add huge renewable capacity along with battery storage to achieve the electricity consumption to 14% through the non-conventional source of energy. The 2030 target can be achieved through small-scale projects such as distributed Solar, as this will give a boost to the domestic manufacturers. As for utility-scale projects, they have to import panels from outside the country, take investment from large financial institutions, even the EPC contractors will not from Jordan, so the country plan is to bring self-sustainability instead of depending on the foreign entity.

The 1 MW cap for distributed solar is not helping the small rooftop installations segment, even the country has to come up with a favorable policy for the benefit of both to achieve the 2030 target.

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ISRAEL In 2002, the Ministers' Committee on Social and Economical Affairs decided, in resolution 2246, to encourage the construction and operation of electricity plants operated through renewable energy by private producers and the electricity company. The resolution set a goal of 2% of the electricity supply to consumers starting from 2007 and an increase of one percent every three years, up to a level of 5% of the total electricity generation in 2016 and of 10% up to 2020. In 2007, the Israeli government decided, in resolution 2178 to remove limitations in the energy sector and encourage electricity generation by private entrepreneurs. In 2008-9, as part of the policy of transition to using renewable energy, resolution 3338, issued on March 27, 2008, on building Solar power stations in the Eshalim region in the Negev, with a capacity of about 250 MW. In July 2011, the Government allows generating electricity through Solar energy, Wind energy, and energy based on Bio-gas, Bio-mass, and Waste. In September 2015, a government resolution 542 was adopted on reducing greenhouse gas levels and making energy consumption in the economy more efficient by producing electricity from renewable energy sources at a rate of 13% in 2025, out of total electricity consumption, and 17% in 2030. In April 2016, the government outlined (Resolution 1403) steps to achieve the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, and generating electricity from renewable energy sources. These include tax incentives for electricity generation facilities from renewable energy, promotion of Green Building projects. The government passed a resolution for setting a national target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction of electricity consumption by at least 17% by 2030 relative to the expected electricity consumption for that year. For the renewable sources of energy at least 13% of the total electricity consumption in Israel by 2025, increasing to at least 17% by 2030.

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The government National plan is to reduce the energy intensity to 11% by 2025, compared with 1.2% by 2015. This target reflects an improvement in final energy intensity from 148.6 MWh in 2015, to about 131.7 MWh in 2025 in the country. The government has set the target to achieve a 30% renewable energy goal by 2030, and around 20% by 2025. By the end of 2019, renewable energy installed capacity was around 1.5 GW, with solar accounting for 1.4 GW.

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SOLAR PV PROJECT The country has installed over 1.4 GW of Solar Pv projects by 2020, and now the target is to come up with a Solar project with a storage system and the project development has already been started with the announcement of three tenders with an overall capacity of 1,076.95 MW. Date May-16 Jan-18 Nov-19

Developer

EDF Belectric/Clal Sun Ltd. Belectric/Shikun & Binui Renewable Energy Oct-18 EDF 16-Jul-20 Doral Group, Enlight Renewable Energy, Ellomay Capital Dec-20 Doral Renewable Energy, Solgreen, EDF, Enlight Renewable Energy, Energix Renewable, Meshakim & Partners, Shikun & Binui Energy To be announce Source: Ministry of Energy, Israel

Place

Capacity (MW)

Type

Zmorot, Negev Desert Ashalim, Negev Desert Zeelim, Negev Desert

50 30 120

-

Negev Desert Across Israel

101 168

With Storage

Across Israel

608.95

With Storage

Dimona, Negev Desert

300

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The EPC company from France and Germany are participating since starting of solar penetrations in the country and have accumulated enough portfolio to dominate in the future tenders. As the electricity retail tariffs are quite high in Israel comparing with other countries, which helps the EPC companies to gain a good return of investment even with quality installations, which is not there in few of the top Solar PV market globally.

POWER MIX

The total installed capacity in the country stands at around 18 GW by the end of 2020, Non-renewable installed capacity crossed 16.5 GW. Among the renewable source of energy, Solar contributes the maximum installation which has crossed over 1.4 GW, while Wind Power and Bio-energy contributes less than one percent each of the overall installations.

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The plan for 2030 energy strategy is to increase the share of Solar in the power mix, there are two upcoming projects of 300 MW in Dimona, Negev Desert, and another 609 MW both with battery storage, also due to the Covid situation 2020 was a slower year with very few renewable installations in the country.

POLICY & REGULATION

Zero-energy requirement (according to the definitions of the Ministry of Energy) in new buildings. The measure will be applied gradually and according to the purpose of the building.

As a measure in the strategic plan for climate and sustainable energy in local authorities, targets will be set for net-zero municipal electricity consumption (i.e., the authority’s in-house consumption). This measure will include energy efficiency measures, energy management, and the establishment of energy generation systems in the authorities’ buildings.

Government resolution to increase energy efficiency in local authorities including maximum specific power consumption targets for 2025 and 2030, Obligation to survey to identify energy conservation potential, installation of systems for generating renewable energy on top of office buildings.

National planning to support the goals of the Ministry of Energy to ban the sale of polluting vehicles, including the establishment of electric charging infrastructure, preparation of the electric power sector, research and development, provision of incentivizing measures, removal of barriers, and public outreach.

Total solar power generation is about 0.75 TWh by 2025 & about 3.2 TWh by 2030. The total economic benefit of the program's policy measures is about NIS 87 billion ($26.0164 billion).

Efficiency in buildings - energy rating at the building planning stage: Requirement to present an energy rating for each new housing unit for sale, determined by a laboratory and according to the housing unit standard.

Efficiency in buildings - energy rating according to actual consumption: Establishment of a system for monitoring the energy performance of existing buildings (similar to the American Energy Star system). As part of this measure, the system infrastructure will be established and a pilot will be conducted in office buildings.

Establishment of a digital system for managing the information reported to the Ministry of Energy as mandated by the law and the regulations.

The National Energy Efficiency Plan was written amid a global pandemic-COVID-19, undermining economic stability and focusing attention on slowing the rate of the spread of the COVID 19. This global effort has significant economic implications. However, along with the risks created by the crisis, opportunities are created for societal change and improvement, promoting actions with a positive impact on the population's well-being and the environment.

Conclusion Considering a full implementation of the Plan’s policy measures, the total energy consumption in Israel is expected to be 184.3 TWh in 2025 and 194.6 TWh in 2030 while the energy savings in 2025 and 2030 is expected to be about 5.5 TWh and 16.5 TWh respectively. The plan is very accurate, which will boost the country's renewable energy share especially Solar, and soon country will develop solar projects with battery energy storage systems, also increase the focus on EV mobility. The government effort for clean energy will make Israel one of the top markets for renewable capacity among the Middle Eastern countries.

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IRAN The renewable capacity in the country is coming mainly from Hydro Power, but Iranian lawmakers have prioritized the reduction of CO2 emissions and the development of renewable energy resources as key goals within the framework of the fifth five-year development plan with a target of 5,000 MW of installed capacity from renewable power plants in the short term. In the long term, the government hopes to increase the nominal capacity of all power plants from 85 GW to over 120 GW by the end of 2025, in which a portion is determined to be derived from renewable resources. To give a boost to the rooftop solar PV installations in the country, Majlis Joint Commission, a parliamentary body responsible for reviewing the budget bill, approved $500 million funding for expanding solar rooftop systems in the financial year 2019-20. Also, the Iran government wants to transfer 80% of state-owned power plants to private players by 2022 to support the targets envisioned by the 20-Year Strategy for economic development. The management of electricity in the country is very important as during peak hour demand, the national grid struggles to meet the energy demand. As the construction of new thermal plants is a costly and time-consuming process, so energy ministry is finding alternate options to encourage consumers to consume less electricity and to use more efficiently.

So, the Ministry is looking for solar rooftop plans to encourage the household and commercial consumers to install solar rooftops at their premises.

The installed solar capacity in the country has reached over 400 MW by 2020, while in 2021 in the first five months, cumulative capacity breaches 433 MW. There is a growth of over 135% since 2017 when the solar installations started in the country.

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Yearly solar installations picked up from 2017, there was a year over year growth of over 300% since then the installations in the country have shown an exponential growth till Covid-19 outbreak. There are lots many programs in the solar rooftop is being launched by a government body to encourage the growth of distributed solar in the country, such as in 2019-20 the Majlis Joint Commission approved the $500 million funding for the growth of solar rooftop in the country.

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POWER MIX BY MAY 2021 The renewable installations in the country have crossed 850 MW excluding hydropower as of May 2021. Among the renewable, Solar installed around 433.1 MW, while Wind installed capacity were 309 MW, both Solar and Wind Power having 1% share of the overall power mix in the country.

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RENEWABLE MIX As of May 2021, the electricity generated from renewable energy (excluding large hydro) was around 6,377 million KWh, among the renewable Solar share in the installed power capacity were 49%, while Wind share was 35%, small hydro (104.7 MW) having 12%. Biomass (10.56 MW), Waste Heat Recovery (13.6 MW) & Turbo Expander (9.6 MW) having a share of 1%, 2%, and 1%.

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SHARE OF ALL TYPES OF RE POWER PLANTS

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POLICY & REGULATIONS

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organisation (REEEO) is authorized to do the auction projects. The rate ceiling in the auction is equal to the average energy conversion component of the guaranteed purchase rate of electricity (per KWh) of small-scale generators in one month leading up to the auction date plus twenty percent.

The auction for the purchase of electricity will be conducted regardless of the site and the type of technology used in the renewable electricity generation and based on the auction mechanism used in the wholesale electricity market. SATBA will be handling the whole process starting from auctioning, to PPA signing to electricity supplied to the grid, also check the actual capacity of generation within the PPA years. Extension of the contract period for guaranteed purchase of electricity is not allowed after the end of the contract period.

The maximum cash payment of the invoices in each period will be based on SATBA allocated budgets. The remaining payment of the demand of the renewable electricity seller (by registering the demands in payment information management and governmental demand website) will be dependent on the differences between governmental levelized and obliged prices or other allocated resources.

The tariff for all the subject power plants to this enactment except for wind power plants will be included in 3 steps reduction of purchase ratio (after adding all the other ratios) at the beginning of the 8th, 12th, and 16th years. This ratio will be equal to 60%. The Wind power plants will continue with the previous enactments. With the investor’s request, changing the basic rate and contractual conditions would be accepted for the contracts with a maximum of 10 MW capacities which were concluded before this announcement.

To fulfill the allocated missions to SATBA and with the aim of improvement of internal capabilities in forming the value chain of renewable electricity generation, SATBA must provide the Ministry of Energy with a supportive program for technology development which is not yet in the production commercial-stage which supports research and development and also public-private cooperation models to reduce risk of changing production from research to commercial products within maximum six months since this announcement.

SATBA should provide investment clients with a general booklet of the regulations and conditions for purchasing electricity from private sector investors after the approval of the Ministry of Energy.

SOLAR PV PROJECTS

In April 2018, a 10 MW solar power plant was commissioned in Abadeh County in southern Fars Province with an investment of $3.5 million with indigenized technology and locally-made panels. In Feb 2019, four Solar farms with an investment of $32 million, each with a production capacity of 7 MW, supply 28 MW of electricity to the grid. Two of the plants are located in the city of Kabudarahang, and the other two are in Famenin and Qahavand. In Jan 2019, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Company (SATBA - deputy of Ministry of Energy) along with Athos Solar GmbH who had invested $9 million in the project commissioned 7 MW of Solar project in Hamedan Province.

Conclusion The shortage of funds from the government force the private players to enter into the development of renewable projects in the country, also open up for foreign investor to invest in the renewable sector. And, the result is that the renewable capacity has risen by manifold, which was around 300 MW in 2016, now it is close to 880 MW by May 2021.

To give a boost to the renewable energy sector, SATBA allows the plant owner to choose between domestically or foreign-made parts, which again encourages the indigenous factories operator to keep pace with the international standard. The cost of electricity from renewable is three times cheaper than electricity from fossil fuel which was around 11 cents in 2019 in the country.

The government should focus on timely payments to the private contractors, due to delays in the payment many under-development renewable projects are on hold, many developers got bankrupt, many have abandoned in-hand projects, also many installers who planned to build large capacity is developing small projects due to financial constraint. The government has introduced various measures to encourage the use of solar energy in the country, including giving cheap loans to households to expand the use of rooftop solar panels. The country is also invested heavily to expand renewables as it seeks to rely less on conventional methods of power generation.

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IRAQ

Iraq electricity demand is growing very fast especially in the peak summer month, and Solar projects will help the government to fulfill this energy demand, as installing Solar projects is quick, cost-effective also support Iraq's plans to become self-sufficient, also will help to reduce the cost of electricity imports. The country has set a target to upgrade renewable energy production to between 20-30 percent of the total power output by 2027. Iraq plans to reach 10 GW of Solar PV installed capacity by 2030 and is planning to develop seven Solar PV plants with a combined capacity of 700 MW. The government sets a goal for 2018-2022, to install 1000 MW of Solar PV projects by the end of the second year of the four years program for which the council of Ministers signed an agreement in a single bid manner from the French company -Total to invest in generating Solar power, the company got the contract to develop solar PV project of 500 MW which needs to starts by 2022 end. The government has also planned a pilot project to install 8 MW of solar rooftop projects at different government buildings. The council of Ministers is also planning for the distribution of integrated Solar energy systems to 3,000 low-income families free of charge.

Cumulative Solar PV Installation in Iraq

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Iraq Power Mix By 2020

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The Ministry of Electricity has put out Solar PV tenders for 755 MW for investments. These projects are expected to be completed in twelve months from the point of allocation to the investors/developers under Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. The Ministry of Electricity is also looking for other non-conventional energy such as Wind, Waste to Energy, Geothermal Technology to achieve the renewable power mix target by 40% in the long term.

Solar PV Tender in Iraq Project Name Sawa-1 Sawa-2 Khidhir Iskandariya Jissan Karbala Diwania Source: Ministry of Electricity, Iraq

Capacity (MWp)

Location

30 50 50 225 50 300 50

Muthana Muthana Muthana Babil Wassit Karbala Diwania

INVESTMENT IN SOLAR PV The Ministry of Electricity has planned for the investment in Solar PV energy till 2020 by the governate in the country. For the utility-scale project, Iraq is undertaking a free-market approach by allowing the developers to build the projects based on reverse auction, the L1 bidders will get the opportunity to build the projects on BOO (Build Own Operate) and IPP models.

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As per the Ministry of Electricity, 465 MW of Solar Pv projects has been awarded to Sama Baghdad Power Company at different project location such as Babil, Iskandariya (225 MW), Al Anbar, Ramadi (100 MW), Al Anbar, A'miriyat Alsmoud (50 MW), Al Faluja (40 MW), Al Shehabi (50 MW).

MOE Plan for Investment in PV Solar Energy (2017-2020) Governate 2017 (MW) Baghdad 15 Al Muthana 130 Al Najaf 100 Al Diwaniya Dhi Qar 50 Messan 150 Al Anbar 430 Karbalaa Wassit 75 Diyala 15 Babil 185 Total 1150 Source: Ministry of Electricity (MOE), Iraq

2018 (MW) 30 30 50 50 50 50 10 30 30 25 100 455

2019 (MW) 30 30 50 50 30 50 100 30 30 25 100 525

2020 (MW) 30 30 50 50 30 50 10 30 30 25 50 385 EQ iSearch

The government issued a white paper, where energy sector reform played an important role to meet the increasing electricity demand. Due to political instability, many of the projects come to a halt, which raises huge power cuts especially in the summer season where the demand is high. Iraq thinks tank estimates that country needs $40 billion to achieve the stated goal of 24*7 electrification by 2030. The country's current policy is not sufficient to support the development and free the electricity retail business. Several new laws need to be legislated such as rooftop solar, net metering which allows the customer to sell excess electricity to the grid. The electricity market needs to be established to facilitate the financial transaction between the electricity generator and distribution/retail companies. Iraq has signed a 2 GW agreement with Masdar which will be built in central and southern parts of the country with an investment of around $1 billion. Total (Energy) is also planning to build a 1 GW Solar PV plant as per the agreement signed by the company with the Iraqi government which has been sending to the cabinet for final approval. Even though many Solar PV projects are announced but Iraq needs to adopt consolidated policies to promote other sources of energy other than oil and gas if wants to go neck to neck with the rest of the countries in the middle east region.

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OMAN

The installed capacity of Solar PV in the country has crossed 100 MW by 2020, and there is a renewable target set by Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) of over 3 GW by 2025 and wants to reach 16 percent of total electricity generation by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030. The country has also commissioned 50 MW of Wind Farm at Dhofar, also in 2020, the country installed its first & largest Independent Power Project (IPP) Solar PV project of 100 MW. The peak demand is expected to grow by 6% per year from 6.1 GW in 2017 to 9 GW in 2024. The country also needs major development in the transmission connection, along with RE projects. The country has targeted huge renewable projects for the future, which attract investments across the world. The 25 MW Solar PV Plant at Sohar city, shows the aggressiveness toward achieving the renewable energy target set by the government of Oman.

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POWER MIX

The power mix of Oman looks very different from other Middle East countries, as Solar PV and Wind are the only sources of renewable energy, but there are several pipeline projects which are coming online in the future in Wind, Solar, along with Hydrogen. In February 2019, Japan’s Marubeni signed PPA with Petroleum Development Oman’s (PDO) to develop a 100 MW of Solar project at Amin, which got commissioned in 2020. Also, 50 MW of Wind Farm went online in Dhofar.

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In line with Oman’s vision to diversify fuel sources through the use of clean energy for power generation, OPWP issued the Request for Qualification for the development of Manah Solar I IPP and Manah Solar II IPPs in July 2019, OPWP received 14 statements of qualification out of which 9 applicants got pre-qualified for the two projects. Each project will have a capacity of about 500 MW and both projects are expected to achieve commercial operation date (COD) in Q2/Q3 2023 respectively. The Request for Proposals for the Projects has been released to pre-qualified bidder in July 2020.

POWER DEMAND AND PROJECTION In 2017, electricity demand grew at a relatively slow pace compared to the historical average, and was consistent with the OPWP forecast.

Peak demand increased by about 3.3% to 6,116 MW, while average demand increased by 6.4% to 3,578 MW (corresponding to 31.3 TWh of energy). This reflects the impact of the reduced economic growth that began in 2015. The lower growth rate of peak demand also reflects the impact of Cost Reflective Tariffs (all the costs of electricity generation, transmission, distribution & supply to the customer. Under this tariff the customer will be bearing the total cost of his electricity consumption without government subsidy) that was introduced to large industrial, commercial, and government consumers in 2017. Over the last 7 years, peak electricity demand grew at an average annual rate of about 7%, from 3,613 MW in 2010 to 6,116 MW in 2017. Energy consumption and average demand grew by about 8.5% annually during the same period. Single-year growth rates have fluctuated widely, influenced strongly by weather and economic growth: annual peak demand growth has ranged from a low of 0.9% to a high of 15.6% over the past 12 years.

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The scenario for electricity demand growth is linked to projections of the country’s economic growth, specifically to the growth trend in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Economic growth slowed following the fall in oil prices in 2014 and 2015.

RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PLAN In December 2017, OPWP announced a tender for a 500 MW Solar PV project to be located at Ibri. This is the first in a series of renewable energy IPP tenders that are planned to achieve the government’s target of renewable energy electricity generation by 2025. The renewable energy plan currently comprises Solar, Wind, and Waste-to-Energy projects.

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Renewable Energy Development Plan (MW) Project Ibri ll Solar IPP Solar IPP 2022 Solar IPP 2023 Solar IPP 2024 Wind IPP 2023 Wind IPP 2024 Waste to Energy 1 Total Capacity Capacity Contribution Source: OPWP

2021

2022

2023

2024

500 500 150

500 500 1000 300

500 500 500 200 50 1750 500

500 500 500 500 200 200 50 2450 650 EQ iSearch

OPWP plans to procure more than 3 GW of renewable energy IPPs by 2025. The locations of the projects will depend on the transmission projects' approval and site allocation. OPWP plans that Solar energy development will contribute at least 30% of their peak installed capacity to the peak demand and projects will occur at different sites locations, OPWP has a process underway for site allocation and transmission access, with the full support of the relevant government agencies.

POLICY AND REGULATION The is no such definition for renewable energy in Oman. The power sector does not include a specific regime for Solar plants, generation means the production of electricity in any manner. The Sector Law relating to the generation, therefore, applies equally to all types of generation plants, including solar PV plants.

The developers (domestic & international) have to participate through a public tender to develop, own and operate a renewable energy project in the country. The developers will be responsible for financing and overseeing the project development. OPWP will be responsible to procure the power from the projects at the lowest cost to meet the growing demand, the company (OPWP) is having a monopoly over the purchase of bulk power from the IPPs through a public tender process.

Authority for Public Utilities Regulation (APUR) is the independent regulator of the power sector, which is responsible for issuing regulations for the production and sale of electricity through renewable energy sources. SAHIM – an initiative that allows households and businesses to install solar rooftops on their premises, the aim is to install 30% of residential premises in the country through solar rooftop and meet the 30% electricity demand through renewable energy by 2030.

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KUWAIT

Kuwait is one of the largest oil-producing countries in the Middle Eastern region, also generates electricity through the non-renewable source of energy, but from the past few years, the Ministry of Electricity and Water is focusing on renewable sources of energy for electricity generation. In 2021, the Ministry included 16 renewable energy projects in its plan to introduce RE projects with the vision to produce alternative energy technology to obtain electricity from its sustainable sources so that it contributes to the production of between 4.5 GW and 5 GW of the total energy produced in the State of Kuwait by 2030, as the country wants to achieve at least 15 percent of the total energy produced by 2025. The country installed its first Solar PV project of 10 MW named Sidrah 500 at the UMM Gudair Oilfield with an investment of $100 million in 2016, 50% of the generation will be connected into the grid, while the rest is to be used at the oilfield.

Cumulative Solar PV Installed Capacity in Kuwait

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The installed solar PV capacity in the country now stands at around 90 MW by 2020 (Solar PV & CSP), even though the installation in 2020 was nil, the country has positive plans to add solar PV capacity in the country. Kuwait National Petroleum Company received bids for 1.5 GW Al-Dibdibah Solar projects in 2019, where China’s Metallurgical Corporation submitting the lowest bid of 11.2 fils/kWh, ahead of the local (Kuwait) Al-Mulla Group which was been canceled. Now in 2021, Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) a public-private company will again tender the project.

Yearly Solar PV Installations in Kuwait

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Under Phase, I of the Shagaya project, 70 MW of renewable energy capacity, 50 MW CSP solar, and 10 MW of both Solar PV and Wind, have already been installed. This 1.5 GW is the planned Phase ll, which was planned to have almost 4-5 GW of renewable energy capacities by 2030, Phase lll is a plan to have 2 GW capacity.

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Future Planned Solar PV Projects in Kuwait

Location

Capacity (MW)

Sabhan Al-Zour Station Sabiya Station Sabiya Station Sabhan DohaComplex Shuwaikh Water Complex Mutla’a Residential Hawalli Water Complex Sabhan Administrative Buildings Al-Zour Station Sabiya Station Mutla Chemical Works Building Administrative Buildings in Several Locations Al- Shygaya Ground Water Tanks PV panels, CSP, levels, and Wind Projects across the countries Source: Ministry of Electricity and Water, Kuwait

3.7 4 3 30 4.6 10 17 52 10 6.75 2 2 0.7 3.46 270 2430 EQ iSearch

The ministry’s plan the important projects of photovoltaic panels on the roofs of 6 story buildings in Subhan with a production capacity of 3.7 MW, photovoltaic panels on the canopies of cars and buildings in Al-Zour power station with a combined capacity of 4 MW, as well as a project of photovoltaic panels on car sheds and buildings in Al-Subbiya with combined capacity of 3 MW. The important projects are the photovoltaic panel's project on the groundwater tanks at the Subbiya station with an installed capacity of 30 MW, the project of supplying, installing, and operating the photovoltaic panels on car canopies with an installed capacity of 4.6 MW, the peak in Sabhan, the photovoltaic panels project on the groundwater tanks in the Doha complex with an installed capacity of 10 MW. Kuwait currently doesn’t have any policy and regulation for renewable energy which got expired in 2017, which is forcing foreign investors to enter into any project development, also the cancellation and again re-tendering of 1.5 GW Solar PV projects will pull back the further growth in the renewable sector.

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OTHER MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES LEBANON Lebanon Energy Outlook 2030 projects a challenging objective of having 500 MW of solar rooftop applications by 2030. The focus is more on rooftop solar systems as the total investment of $125.83 million has already been made by the end of 2019 as per the Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC) report and are expecting that the investment will reach up to $400 million in the next decade. The Ministry is also trying to push forward utility-scale solar projects all over the country based on Power Purchase Agreements with the private sector. To reach the country’s target of 2030 to generate 30% of the electricity through renewable energy, investment in utility-scale projects is needed.

From 2010 to 2019, the cumulative installed solar PV capacity grew by an average rate of 89% per year. Solar PV electricity in 2019 represented 0.73% of the total annual electricity generation by Electricite du Liban (EDL) (up from 0.55% in 2018)

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The year-over-year growth rate for the solar PV capacity has decreased from 51% in 2018 to 39% in 2019. The number of new solar PV projects increased from 326 in 2018 to 360 in 2019. The turnkey price for solar PV has been falling steadily year after year from $7,186 per kWp in 2011 to $935 in 2019. This constitutes a price drop of 87% in nine years. As per the LCEC report, 54% of the installed solar PV capacity to date is funded by National Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (NEEREA) for a total investment of $64.75 Million whereas the remaining 46% of installed capacity was funded by non-NEEREA investments totaling $61.08 Million.

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The country has installed over 3.7 GW of total power capacity, and non-renewable still dominating the power mix capacity, where more than 3.4 GW of capacity comes from non-renewable sources of energy as of 2019. Hydro capacity is having the largest market share among the renewable installed capacity.

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Even the investment in the solar PV projects in the country is showing a positive growth rate, In 2019, total investment in the solar PV sector grew by 20% from the previous year; totaling over $125.83 Million. This means that 2019 saw an additional $20.72 Million in new investments introduced into the market. This is largely thanks to the NEEREA loan program which provided $7.71 Million or 37% of overall investments

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The country has positive plans for solar PV but is limited to distributed solar, to increase the share of renewable to 30% by 2030, the ministry has to start issuing utility-scale tenders. The estimated monetary savings from all solar PV projects in Lebanon grew from $200,000 per year in 2010 to $6.42 Million per year in 2019. The cumulative savings by the end of 2019 amount to $66.56 Million. NEEREA financing is a key requirement. In addition, the current appetite for international banks such as EBRD, AFD, and EIB to give loans in Lebanon through domestic commercial banks including the decentralized environmentally friendly power ventures will assume a significant part in accomplishing these objectives. All that is left is the eagerness of corporate banks to loan to the private area to accomplish public targets.

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PALESTINE

Palestine has a scarcity of conventional energy sources due to the increasing population and rising energy prices. The country has the potential of renewable energy sources with sunshine over 3000 hours per year. Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority (PENRA) sets several policies for encouraging investment in photovoltaic systems for local and international investors. Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance (SUNREF) had been launched in the past few years to encourage utilizing PV systems in Palestine through soft loans.

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POLICY AND REGULATION There are special incentives for net-metering projects owned by the Palestinian Investment Fund (PIF). PIF is a public fund owned

by PA (Palestinian National Authority). PV systems projects are one of the activities of PIF, and thus, special incentives are given to projects owned and managed by PIF. • Projects with a capacity of 20 kW are given an additional year for all stages.

• Projects with a capacity of 40 kW are being given two more years for all stages (almost the whole lifetime).

• Projects with a capacity of 60 kW are being given three more years for all stages (almost the whole lifetime).

• Any other PIF project that does benefit from the previous incentives, and its capacity have been developed to be up to 40 kW at least, can benefit from an income tax of (2%) for two years.

SOLAR TARIFF Domestic (within the Palestinian Initiative for solar energy, up to 5 kW and for the first 1000 house): 0.14–0.15 USD/kWh, same as normal electricity price for end-user.

Net-metering (bigger than 5 kW and up to 999 kW): There is no specified purchasing tariff, those projects are treated as (unit versus unit), and according to the regulations of each project.

Generation plants with a capacity of 1MW–5MW (offered by the investor to the government): 90% of the production will be purchased based on agreements with Palestinian Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (PETL). The price will be the average purchase price of various sources of conventional energy.

Generation plants with a capacity of 1–5 MW: The lowest price quoted in the bidding process among the competitive investors without exceeding 90% of the average purchase price from various sources of conventional energy.

Project GIE/PADICO Noor Tubas, PIF Noor Jenin, PIF 3 Bani Ne’em 30.5 Askar Beit Forik Birzit University Schools Project

Under-Development Solar PV Project MW 7.3 9 3 30.5 1 1 1 35

Governorate Gaza Tubas Kafa’a Jenin Hebron Nablus Nablus Ramallah -

Source: PENRA

In June 2021, the Noor Jericho plant under the Noor Palestine project comes online with a generation capacity of 7.5 MW. Due to land constraints in the country, most of the solar PV projects will get commissioned on rooftops of schools, government buildings, industrial EQ iSearch & commercial spaces. Even though many incentives and benefits initiatives have been taken from the government side, still the growth of

Solar PV installations are slow, but the under-development projects are good in hand which will boost the renewable energy functioning in the country, and the share of electricity mix will increase more from the Solar PV generations as the country has a good amount of sunny day along with 3000 hours of sunshine yearly.

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BAHRAIN The country has installed a Solar PV capacity of just 10 MW and is moving towards sustainable development by raising engagement with India in renewable capacity addition, particularly in the field of Solar, Wind, and Green (clean) Hydrogen. The Solar PV project at Nabih Saleh Water Distribution Station has been completed at the starting of 2021, with a capacity of 253 kW. The country is also focusing on distributed solar.

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The power mix capacity in the country stands at over 8 GW, where Solar contributes less than a percent. SolarOne, the domestic manufacturer of Solar PV panels recently installs an MW of the largest rooftop energy systems at Al Raja School in Manama, Prime Mall in Sanad, and BRC Weldmesh in Mina Salman.

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Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism had prepared guidelines to enable faster adoption of electric vehicles by ensuring safe, reliable, accessible, and affordable charging infrastructure and eco-system. The government is also planning to implement a technical regulation as early as July to allow importing such vehicles. The authority was mentioning that several companies had expressed their interest in investing in solar rooftop installations for government buildings, almost 535 buildings are there in the Kingdom that could run on solar power. The Sustainable Energy Authority, along with the Education Ministry, launched a tender for installing Solar energy systems in eight government schools as a pilot project. These schools have over 20 buildings selected to install Solar systems in exchange for a tariff that the bidding companies put on the tender and bid at lower than the government tariff. Bahrain launches global tender for Solar Farm within Formula 1 Grand Prix Circuit in partnership with country’s Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) via government tender board for Build-Own-OperateMaintain (BOOM) grid-tied solar PV power plant with a minimum capacity of 3 MW. Accordingly, five bidders – International Irec Energy, Aradous Energy Generations, Esmaely Lenzohm Electrical, Down Town Construction Company, and Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoohad submitted their proposals.

QATAR Qatar sets the country goal of generating 20% of its energy needs from Solar power by 2030. The first utility-scale Al Kharsaah photovoltaic (PV) power project of 800 MW has been awarded to a consortium of Marubeni, Total, and Siraj Energy. The project will be built under different phases. The 350 MW first phases will be commissioned in 2021, while the full 800 MW Al Kharsaah photovoltaic (PV) project will be connected to the grid by 2022.

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The country has around 5 MW of Solar PV installed capacity by 2020, but the government wants to reduce its dependability on fossil fuel sources of electricity generation, and move towards renewable energy especially solar. With this project, KAHRAMAA (Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation) managed to avail competitive power generation prices, save significant natural gas quantities used in traditional power generation, reduce carbon and other emissions and preserve the surrounding environment. During the project’s lifetime, the plant will contribute to reducing 26 million tons of CO2, which aligns with the objectives of the national program for conservation and energy efficiency “Tarsheed” to reduce 1 million tons of carbon emissions annually until 2022.

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Conclusion for the Middle East Solar PV Market ations in the Middle East region are executing the arranged systems to broaden their economies and progress towards cleaner energy. Sustainable tasks and especially Solar PV-based ventures have filled essentially in 2020, despite the slowdown of Solar PV tenders because of COVID 19.

With the decline of Solar prices, Solar Project is turning out to be progressively serious and the dispatch of new undertakings is relied upon to continue in 2021. Utility-scale storage projects are very few. But, battery storage costs, lithium-ion batteries specifically, are relied upon to additional diminishing. Combined PV and CSP projects could also help to overcome intermittency. The industry can expect distributed energy and the commercial and industrial market to further pick up. In 2020, despite COVID 19 challenges, this bracket of the Middle East region’s solar market has continued to grow. The regulatory framework for the C&I segment still needs lots many policies up-gradation. Presently, rooftop projects are contained at restricted force limits and nations such as KSA (Saudi Arabia) have explained net metering conditions. Wheeling actually should be all the more to a great extent approved in the Middle East region. With the advancement of further advance digitalized grid-management tools, guidelines could turn out to be more adaptable. In the framework of the countries clean energy objectives will continue to be the main driver in the Middle East region. Utility-scale projects and clean energy objectives will continue to be the main drivers in the Middle East region. In countries such as KSA, UAE, sustainable megaprojects will bring additional push. In the interim, 2020 & 2021 have seen the rise of inexhaustible clean hydrogen projects in the area, offering long-haul freedoms to the Middle East nations. Almost all the major renewable energy-producing countries trying to build the green hydrogen project such as UAE, KSA (Saudi), Oman, Jordan, and others.

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