Middle East has the potential to become a boom center for solar energy in the next 10 years with additional 9,000 MW of concentrated solar power capacities until 2020 and more than 40,000 MW until 2030, said a study by AT Kearney.

This solar generated power will give the Middle East the option to sell the gas and oil at increasing prices to the world market instead of burning it to generate electricity, and also create huge employment opportunities in direct or supporting industries, the global management consulting firm pointed out in its latest study.

But for this, the countries in the Middle East region must invest heavily in solar power energy industry to stay ahead in the energy game as the sector becomes cost competitive owing to the rising oil and gas costs, it stated.

The investment will be timely when looking at energy generation cost and job creation opportunities for these countries, it added.

'The European and US suppliers had dominated the solar market in the past. But this is currently about to change as cheap Chinese suppliers are entering the market but with low quality products,' said Dr Dirk Buchta, managing director of AT Kearney Middle East.

'This may be the chance for the Middle East which is geographically well positioned to become a future major player.With an average of 310 sunny days per year and a high annual solar irradiance of over 2,500kWh per sq m per annum, the Middle East has more than double the amount of solar energy potential than anywhere in Central Europe, he pointed out.

“The cost competitiveness of solar energy will lead to a boom in solar energy on a global basis and represents a unique opportunity for the Middle East,” he said.

However, the growth of a Mena-wide solar industry will have to be supported by national and regional strategies, and relies on close cooperation between governments and the private sector, the study stated.

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) will likely become cost competitive in the next 12 months, as oil and gas prices are increasing to oil expected to selling at above $100 and the costs for CSP technology are sinking due to productivity improvements, said Dr Buchta.

Christian von Tschirschky, principal, AT Kearney Middle East, said the Middle East may benefit from the expected global boom in solar energy through developing its own solar power energy industry supplying its own demand and parts of the growing global demand for renewable energy.

“There is an increasing demand for solar technology on a global basis which may be partially covered by technology and production sites in Mena – why leave it to the Chinese?, von Tschirschky asked.

'The Mena region has a unique opportunity to develop high quality globally competitive solar suppliers, who produce at lower costs than US or European suppliers. A competitive regional solar energy industry has the potential of creating over 100,000 new jobs in the region, based on benchmarks from other regions,' he pointed out.

'These jobs include direct jobs in Photovoltaic (PV) and CSP suppliers, developers and operators as well as supporting industries” said von Tschirschky.

“Besides developing solar technology and production centers, the region may also sell solar energy in the future as part of the European Desertec project to Europe which will open the chance for additional revenues of $90 billion per annum for Mena,” he added.

The areas which the Mena governments and the private sector need to address are related to the creation of a conducive environment, which ensures sufficient funding, a supporting regulatory framework, education of solar energy workforce as well as industrial zones for renewable energy and the construction of solar plants, the study said.-TradeArabia News Service