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Sustainable energy ‘should be top priority’

Abu Dhabi, December 4, 2013

Creating a sustainable, solar energy industry should be a top regional priority, said a senior executive of First Solar, a leading energy company and exhibitor at the World Future Energy Summit.

“The Mena region obviously has the sun, a fantastic and abundant resource, making it a natural hub for solar energy. The eyes of the world are on the region in terms of development of solar energy, with a lot of leading companies here, making big investments,” said Christopher Burghardt, VP of Business Development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

“What we need to do is make sure the programmes are implemented so that they lead to the creation of a sustainable industry, which would lead to job and local value creation. It is really about harnessing an abundantly available local resource and turning it into an industry,” he said.

Burghardt said First Solar was confident of sustained growth for solar power in the Mena region with a number of projects completed and under development.

“For net energy exporters like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, solar energy offers an opportunity to displace fuel used for electricity production, which is often subsidised, and turn it into higher value exports. For net importers such as Jordan, Morocco, Egypt and others, solar helps in terms of hedging the future cost of electricity, with the added benefit of bringing about energy security,” he added.

Hosted by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, the World Future Energy Summit 2014 will take place from January 20 to 22 in the emirate.  

The seventh edition of the summit, a part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), will address the interconnected challenges affecting the widespread acceleration and adoption of sustainable development and renewable energy. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Energy | Summit | sustainable | region |

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