United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi-based Masdar has raised $1 billion through a new bond issuance. It says the investment will fund equity commitments on new greenfield projects, several of which are in developing economies.

Though it already hosts several of the world’s largest PV installations, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s solar industry is still young, with limited local infrastructure and expertise. Project developers are learning quickly that building PV in harsh desert environments requires a careful eye on quality. New testing laboratories are looking to meet demand.

Scientists in the Emirates have conceived a new space vector pulse width modulation method that reportedly reduces switching losses and increase efficiency in three-phase photovoltaic inverters. The proposed technique was found to have a higher efficiency, while providng lower common-mode voltage, leakage current and total harmonic distortion compared to traditional pulse width modulation approaches.

A group of scientists from the UAE-based energy utility has developed a new method to conduct I-V curve measurements without transporting the solar modules to laboratories for detailed analysis. The proposed Suns-Vmp approach reportedly offers a “very low” average root mean square error between the simulated and the real I-V curves.

Chinese polysilicon maker GCL Tech says it is partnering with Emirati state-owned Mubadala Investment Co. to build the Middle East’s first polysilicon factory in the United Arab Emirates.

Adnoc has delivered the world’s first certified bulk commercial shipment of low-carbon ammonia to a client in Japan, while Plug Power has agreed to supply a 3 GW electrolyzer in Australia.

France’s EDF Renewables, South Korea’s Korea Western Power Co. (KOWEPO), and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. (Masdar) have agreed to jointly design, finance, build and operate a 1.5 GW solar project in the United Arab Emirates, under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Emirates Water and Electricity Co. (EWEC).

The 2024 edition of the Middle East’s most important solar event hosted a higher number of exhibitors and visitors, even though the heaviest rainfall seen in decades hit the United Arab Emirates throughout the first day of the trade show. Nonetheless, the event clearly showed that large-scale PV projects still dominate in the UAE market.

An international research team has used the convolutional neural network (CNN) deep learning algorithm to identify faults in solar panels. Its work showed the proposed technique has a high degree of accuracy, especially if combined with transfer learning models.

Greece has grand plans for an interconnector network that runs from the Middle East through to the heart of Europe. pv magazine examines the latest developments on the road to a Mediterranean super grid and what it might mean for the regions involved.