Solar investment to power up Gulf region

By IVCPOST Staff Reporter

Jul 04, 2013 09:15 PM EDT

A pipeline project, said to amount to US$15 billion, might change the way energy is allocated in the Gulf area within four years, according to news reports by Dubai newspaper Khaleej Times and Saudi Arabia's Arab News. This investment in the solar energy sector will double the region's power generation capacity, analysts predicted.

Saudi Arabia is the number one market in the world for premiere oil exports, making it by far, the largest economy in the globe.

The pipeline is expected to generate a total of 84 megawatts. By 2032, another 54 gigawatts will be padded through renewable sources, 41 gigawatts of which will be sources from solar plants.

Neighboring Qatar eyes a tenth of the power generated by the investment. The nation requires the energy to power its seawater desalination plants, which is a very expensive process in terms of electricity required.

"It is apparent that while the solar industry in other areas is struggling, right across the Middle East and North Africa, the opportunities are there for companies to get themselves involved with a wealth of opportunities that are presenting themselves. Right now, nothing is hotter for solar than the Middle East," said Derek Burston, manager of GulfSol, which operates in the area.

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