Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the most attractive markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for clean tech because of their government plans, budgets and strategies, a new survey suggests.
EY’s MENA Cleantech Survey 2013 also reveals that solar energy has the greatest potential for growth across MENA, compared to other kinds of renewable energy.
Nimer Abu-Ali, MENA Cleantech leader, EY, said Saudi Arabia and the UAE have large financial resources at their disposal for renewable investments, CPI Financial reported.
“Although financing is a necessary resource to develop renewable energy, other aspects play a part in market attractiveness, such as market size and socio-political conditions,” Abu-Ali said.
Saudi Arabia’s plans and financial resources available to King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) place it first on the list of attractive markets.
The country’s plans include deriving 10pc of its electricity from solar energy by 2020, and generating up to one-quarter of its electricity from the sun by 2032.
The long-term renewable strategies of Dubai and Abu Dhabi place the UAE second on the list of most attractive markets for clean tech.
Dubai has finished the first 13 megawatt (MW) phase of a 1,000 MW solar park, which is part of a plan to generate 5pc of electricity through solar energy by 2030, CPI Financial reported.
The MENA Cleantech Survey 2013 involved polling more than 150 executives across various industries.
Solar panel image via Shutterstock
