Foreword and Regional Context
The report opens by describing 2020 as a difficult year, yet one that ultimately reinforced the long-term case for solar energy in the MENA region. Global and regional solar capacity continued to expand, and competitiveness kept improving despite the combination of pandemic disruption and the economic consequences of falling oil and gas prices.
At the same time, the report notes that the crisis slowed the development and launch of some new projects, reduced electricity demand in certain markets, and in some cases delayed investment decisions or led to curtailment. Even so, it presents the solar sector as particularly resilient and adaptable. It argues that the pandemic sharpened awareness of energy security, water security, and sustainability, which in turn increased support for greener investment pathways.
The foreword also frames green hydrogen as an increasingly important future driver of solar expansion. As storage solutions improve and hydrogen becomes more competitive, the report sees solar gaining an even larger role in the next phase of the regional energy transition.
Introduction: Major Solar Developments Across MENA
The introduction highlights how multiple countries in the region continued to advance renewable energy targets and project implementation. Among the examples cited are Noor Abu Dhabi’s first-year net production of 2,000 GWh, the award of the 2 GW Al Dhafra project in Abu Dhabi, commercial operations at Oman’s Amin PV plant, the financial close of Ibri II in Oman, the launch of an offshore floating solar pilot at Nurai Island in Abu Dhabi, progress at the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park in Dubai, new Saudi solar procurement activity, and fresh project awards or regulatory changes in Tunisia and Egypt.
The report argues that, despite economic and financial pressure, the region remained committed to renewable development. Solar is presented as central not only to decarbonization, but also to energy security and the electrification of future end uses. Global installed solar capacity is projected to continue rising sharply, reinforcing the view that solar has entered a structurally stronger phase of growth.
Investment in Renewable Energy
The investment chapter describes MENA as one of the most attractive regions for solar deployment due to high irradiation levels and ambitious national transition strategies. According to the report, solar capacity additions in the region were expected to keep rising through 2022, while additional investment in solar across MENA could reach very high levels by 2025.
The report also emphasizes that, even during a year of disruption, renewable energy and batteries maintained a strong share of new power investment globally. Solar is described as the only energy source for which demand increased in 2020, and the report links this to the broader structural shift toward cleaner energy systems.
Development finance institutions are shown as continuing to play a meaningful role in supporting regional projects. Examples include financing-related support in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Tunisia, and the UAE. The chapter also identifies storage as a growing investment priority, highlighting activity in Morocco, Oman, and the UAE.
COVID-19 and Oil Crisis Impacts
A major section of the report is devoted to the combined impact of the pandemic and the oil price collapse. It explains that the crisis reduced activity across tourism, retail, hospitality, and other sectors, weakened demand, disrupted logistics and labor availability, and contributed to tighter financial conditions. Countries across the GCC and Egypt responded with large economic stimulus packages, direct support measures, looser monetary policy, and liquidity injections into financial systems.
The report notes that weaker external demand and tighter financial conditions affected the availability and cost of project finance. Some countries faced budgetary pressure, rating downgrades, or increased borrowing costs, and this led to delays, cancellations, or postponements in some renewable projects.
At the same time, the report argues that the effect on solar was mitigated rather than transformational. It identifies short-term slowdowns in tendering, permitting, logistics, and workforce access, but stresses that the long-term business case for solar remained intact. The report highlights that solar plants continued to be managed efficiently, that digitalization and remote monitoring became more important, and that new deals and record-low prices still emerged globally.
It also notes that improved air quality and reduced pollution during lockdowns increased solar output in some locations. In the UAE, clearer skies and lower traffic-related soiling are described as having provided an unexpected boost to solar generation.
Solar Trends from 2020 to 2022
The report presents falling solar prices as one of the defining trends of the industry. It highlights the Al Dhafra solar project in Abu Dhabi as another world-record example of very low pricing and underscores the long historical decline in module costs. It attributes ongoing price reductions to growing economies of scale, technology improvements, and steep learning curves within the solar sector.
Looking ahead, the report argues that solar prices could continue declining, supported by expected growth in global demand, ongoing improvements in module technology, and additional manufacturing capacity expansion. Technology changes such as mono-PERC, bifacial modules, and half-cell formats are described as particularly important in reducing costs and improving performance.
The report also pays close attention to the commercial and industrial segment. It describes C&I and distributed generation as an important opportunity for behind-the-meter systems that can reduce electricity costs and improve autonomy for customers. Initiatives such as Shams Dubai and Oman’s Sahim scheme are cited as major examples. Saudi Arabia’s first framework for small-scale solar distribution systems connected to the grid is also noted, while Egypt is described as already moving quickly in the C&I segment under net metering.
Grid Integration and System Flexibility
The report argues that integrating larger shares of variable renewable energy will require more grid flexibility and system planning. It explains that the challenge of integrating wind and solar grows as their share in the power mix increases, and that countries in the MENA region are currently at different stages of this process.
Several approaches are highlighted for improving integration. These include curtailment strategies, grid expansion and interconnection, batteries, power-to-gas approaches linked to hydrogen and methane, smart grid technologies, and demand-side management. In the GCC specifically, the report notes that a large share of electricity demand is driven by air conditioning, making demand-side flexibility especially important.
PV Technology and New Fields of Action
The technology chapter focuses on innovations that are expected to improve module efficiency and reduce system costs. It reviews a broad range of developments including bifacial modules, multi-busbar cells, n-type cells, split-cell modules, gallium-doped cells, heterojunction technology, shingled modules, and back-contact cells.
The report presents bifacial modules as particularly important because they can raise yields and reduce levelized cost of electricity, especially in high-albedo environments. Multi-busbar cells are described as improving power output and reliability while lowering losses and reducing silver usage. N-type technologies are positioned as a promising pathway because of higher efficiency potential and resistance to certain degradation effects.
Other technology areas include floating solar, solar trackers, panel cleaning, risk mitigation, modern inverter capabilities, and digitalization. Floating solar is described as a rising field globally, with UAE and Oman pursuing early applications. Solar trackers are portrayed as highly competitive for utility-scale projects in the region, especially when combined with bifacial modules. The report also notes the importance of cleaning and soiling management in desert environments, showing how cleaning frequency, soiling sensors, and autonomous cleaning systems can materially affect project economics.
On project risk, the report introduces a methodology for evaluating the economic impact of technical failures and mitigation measures across the PV value chain. It presents design review, testing, monitoring, inspection, and spare parts management as part of a broader framework for reducing operational risk and improving bankability.
Digitalization is treated as a major enabling trend. The report describes its role in more centralized and efficient operations, predictive maintenance, forecasting, anomaly detection, digital twins, document management, and improved plant performance through machine learning and data-driven asset management.
Solar Projects and Regional Pipeline
The projects section shows that installed solar power capacity in MENA has been increasing rapidly and is expected to continue rising strongly through 2024. The report lists projects under construction and a larger set of upcoming projects across the region, covering countries such as Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE.
The report presents this pipeline as evidence that, despite the disruptions of 2020, regional solar ambitions remained strong. It also notes that storage projects are increasingly part of the growth equation as battery prices decline and hybrid project models become more feasible.
Energy Storage
Storage is presented as one of the most important complements to solar because it helps address intermittency and improves the broader business case for renewable integration. The report notes that falling battery prices are gradually making storage more viable, even if full long-duration storage remains less economically accessible.
While lithium-ion batteries remain the dominant technology for near-term applications, the report suggests that the future system will likely rely on a mix of storage solutions. The region is described as still being in the early stages of widespread deployment, but storage is increasingly entering both project planning and broader energy system strategy.
Green Hydrogen: The Next Step
The report treats green hydrogen as a major next step for the solar sector rather than a separate industry track. It presents hydrogen as a source of long-term flexibility for energy systems with growing shares of solar and other renewables. This is especially relevant for MENA because of the region’s solar resource quality, land availability, export potential, and strategic interest in maintaining a role in future global energy markets.
Countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Morocco, Egypt, and Oman are described as exploring or pursuing large green hydrogen projects based mainly on solar power. The report suggests that hydrogen could become one of the most important long-term demand drivers for solar in the region.
Highlights in MENA’s Leading Solar PV Markets
The report includes country sections covering Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE. Across these markets, the report examines policy frameworks, project pipelines, market conditions, and strategic direction.
Although the detail differs by country, several common themes emerge. The first is that solar is becoming increasingly embedded in national energy strategies. The second is that progress remains uneven, with some countries moving through procurement and large-scale project execution more quickly than others. The third is that regulatory support, net metering, wheeling, private-sector access, and financing conditions strongly influence how fast markets can grow.
The report presents the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, and Oman as especially important regional markets because of their larger project pipelines, policy activity, and growing role in new technologies such as storage and hydrogen.
Conclusion
The report concludes that solar’s role in MENA is strengthening despite the economic and logistical stress of the pandemic period. Falling technology costs, resilient project economics, policy ambition, and growing interest in storage and hydrogen all point toward continued expansion.
Its overall message is that the region is moving into a more mature phase of solar development. The opportunity is no longer limited to adding utility-scale capacity alone. It now includes distributed generation, storage integration, smarter grids, advanced PV technologies, digitalized operations, and the creation of new clean energy value chains built around green hydrogen.
In that sense, the report presents solar not only as a power-generation technology, but as a broader strategic platform for decarbonization, energy security, and industrial transformation across MENA.
