Land allotment for new RE projects: The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has secured approval to allocate 4 new sites in Abu Dhabi covering close to 75 sq. kms. of land for the development of new solar PV and wind energy projects. These sites in Al Faya, Al Khazna and Al Zarraf will host 4.5 GW AC of additional solar PV capacity, and the one in Sila will be home to a 140 MW wind farm. These projects will support EWEC’s 10 GW target for an installed solar PV capacity by 2030, and 18 GW by 2035. In 2024, EWEC says it received 3 competitive proposals for the development of 1.5 GW Khazna Solar PV Project and invited expressions of interest (EOI) for its 1.5 GW Zarraf Solar PV Independent Power Project.   

588 MW solar plant in Oman: Sembcorp Utilities, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries has completed its maiden greenfield renewables development in the Middle East with 588 MW installed capacity. It is also Sembcorp’s largest utility scale solar farm in its global renewables portfolio. The company announced successful completion of the acceptance tests for its Manah II Solar Independent Power Project in Manah, Oman. It achieved this 4 months ahead of schedule. The project is backed by a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Nama Power and Water Procurement Company. Sembcorp says it will contribute to Oman’s energy transition goal of reaching 30% renewable energy share by 2030.   

Scatec’s 60 MW solar plant in Botswana: Norway’s Scatec has achieved financial close for phase II of its 120 MW Mmadinare Solar Complex in Botswana. It entails the construction of a 60 MW solar project in the Mmadinare District. This 120 MW complex is expected to cost around BWP 1.5 billion ($108 million) as capital expenditure, with an estimated EPC contract value to Scatec of BWP 1.2 billion ($88 million). Scatec owns the project that’s contracted by the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).  

BESS bidders in Saudi auction: The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has released the list of qualified bidders for the 1st group of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects with 2 GW/8 GWh combined capacity. The list of 33 pre-qualified bidders includes international names such as Masdar, ACWA Power, TAQA, Marubeni Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), POWERCHINA, X-ELIO Energy, among others. The qualification process for this group was launched in April 2024 to contribute to the country’s 50% renewable energy energy mix target by 2030. Winners will develop the 4 projects with 500 MW/4 hours capacity each in Makkah, Qassim, and Hail provinces. Each special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the successful bidders to develop and operate these projects, will enter into a 15-year Storage Services Agreement with SPPC. 

Solar mini-grids and EV: A new £3.6 million project, led by Imperial College London, aims to explore the potential of solar mini-grids when paired with electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the context of agricultural and community energy needs in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This Moving IMPACT: Integrated Means to Power Agriculture, Clean Cooking and Transportation project will advance sustainable energy access and local development. Imperial College is joined by more than 13 partners from across the industry, policy, and public sectors. Some of these include the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) - one of Imperial’s strategic partners, the University of Energy and Natural Resources of Ghana, the University of Rwanda, the Kigali Centre for Collaborative Research in Rwanda, the University of Strathmore in Kenya and the University of Leeds. Solar mini-grid developer BBOXX is one of the industrial partners of the project. 

“Our project ‘Moving IMPACT’ aims to explore diverse ways for these mini-grids to generate revenue, for example in electric mobility, agriculture, and community services. We believe this could incentivize the development of mini-grids in communities across Africa that are large enough to support socially impactful uses,” said Study Lead d Dr Adrià Junyent-Ferré, from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London.

Huasun in Abu Dhabi: Chinese heterojunction (HJT) solar manufacturer Huasun Energy will present its advanced solutions for the Middle East region at the upcoming World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2025. It will bring its Himalaya G12-132 730W, Everest G12R-132 630W, G12R-108 520W modules, and ultra-high bifaciality module, which boosts near 100% bifaciality, according to the manufacturer. The event will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from January 14-16, 2025.