From technology trends breaking out at scale, China’s mind-blowing deployment, a certain trade case in the US and of course, one or two notable bankruptcies, 2017 was never short of drama. But which stories drew your attention in 2017?
Renewable energy insurer GCube has secured a new underwriting facility to manage project risks during construction and operations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Saudi Arabia has announced a US$500 billion investment for an industrial and business zone spanning 26,000 square km (10,230 square miles) over three countries, to be fully powered by solar energy and wind power.
Private equity fund SoftBank Vision Fund has officially signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to develop 3GW of PV and energy storage capacity within Saudi Arabia.
Yesterday’s record-breaking bid opening in Saudi Arabia for 300MW of solar has grabbed headlines, including on PV Tech, but while the exact parameters of the RfP remain covert, the bid levels have sparked debate about whether such low prices can be possible without some kind of escalating tariff mechanism or other distortion.
UPDATED: Saudi Arabia’s 300MW solar tender has seen opening bids go lower than two US cents, setting the tone for a new global solar power tariff record if awarded.
Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas giant Saudi Aramco has enlisted locally-owned technology start-up NOMADD Desert Solar Solutions to develop waterless cleaning solutions for solar PV.
With several MENA region countries expected to become gigawatt solar markets in 2018 and beyond, global certification organization UL has teamed with Saudi Arabian-based government body, GCC Laboratories to provide a suite of services to the downstream PV project sector.
