This 1.5 MW solar PV project in Jericho was the largest solar energy installation in the West Bank, until now We want to high five you whenever we hear news like this, news that trumps violence and despair: Two new large solar energy photovoltaic (PV)projects are being built in the West Bank with energy output […]
You might meet snake charmers in the square of Marrakech and also storytellers who tell a good tale. But there is one thing always true about Morocco: the sun always shines. Foreign firms are eager to bank on Morocco’s attractive feed-in tariffs and catch some healthy profits from our sun. Solar energy companies like Martifer […]
The Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Initiative announced yesterday that a tender will be issued to set up and operate the Timna Solar Park, a new 50 Megawatt PV Tracker solar energy field in southern Israel. This is expected to be the first phase of a 170MW project.
To date the most efficient way of making solar cells is using silicon. Now a team of scientists at the University of Sheffield in the UK is the first to fabricate perovskite solar cells using a spray-painting process – a discovery that could help cut the cost of solar electricity.
While solar power plant installations jump to a new annual record this year, according to the Worldwatch Institute, global trends show that despite all the batabata bing bing (announcements, agreements, tea ceremonies, hand-shaking), the Middle East is doing miserably in taking advantage of the sun –– one country is the exception there and it is Israel.
Qatar Solar Energy has unveiled a massive factory that will produce high quality solar panels that make the most of the desert sun, a boon not just for the emirate, but potentially for the entire Middle East.
In an attempt to diversify its energy balance, Dubai has just turned on a 13 MW solar energy plant. The oil wealthy nation is an OPEC member, and one of the first to make a bold statement away from oil. This makes it the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Middle East North Africa.
HH General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (left), HH Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Security Advisor for the UAE and Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council visit Masdar City’s 10 MW PV plant in 2011. Proponents of environmental reform (renewable energy, greener economy) are racing […]
Situated even deeper in the desert than Morocco and prone to locust swarms, Mauritania’s topography consists of the “mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara” – as the CIA puts it. They’ve got very little water and less than half of one percent of the country’s land is arable. But they’ve got sun and they’ve […]
Built anywhere else, a 3.5 MW photovoltaic solar plant wouldn’t even elicit a whisper from mainstream news outlets. But one completed in Saudi Arabia has set the wires ablaze. We don’t mean to be cynical. It’s great that Saudi has turned to solar, regardless of its intentions. Some solar is better than no solar. To […]
Bahrain, a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf, has lagged behind other Gulf region countries in developing its clean energy sector. But the ministry of electricity and water affairs is looking to change all of that with the announcement of a new solar energy project in the capital, Manama. The […]
We have listed 6 big and small solar-powered projects in the MENA region that have inspired us in the hopes that it will do the same for you. Big or small, solar-powered projects in the Middle East and North Africa are transforming our region. Not only do they hold promise of slowly improving air quality […]
Inspired by kite surfing, an Israel engineer at Etenergy develops a PV dual-axis tracker to get 40% more energy from large PV solar installations. What happens when an Israeli engineer with experience in solar power goes kite surfing with the wheels of his mind turning? Eyal Dror founder of the company ETracker has developed a […]
Arava Power in Israel is fighting so Bedouin get a fair share of feed-in tariffs in Israel. Backed by Siemens Arava stands to benefit too. “Sixty percent of the country happens to be desert, and 30 percent of the [desert] inhabitants happen to be Bedouin,” says Yosef Abramowitz, president of Arava Power Company in Israel. […]
Looking deeper into the pitfalls and promise of Desertec at Dii conference in Cairo. Green Prophet’s Tafline is there and reports from the field. Instead of scrambling to find funds and legislative support for the Desertec initiative, a handful of people gathered at the Dii conference in Cairo to explore the project’s overall environmental sustainability. […]
With inconsistent messages to investors and the public, Israel to create a national plan for renewable energy. Even as Israel’s cabinet approved a national action plan for the promotion of clean technology growth, Israel’s government is also considering slashing incentives for mid-sized solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants due to fiscal constraints. The inconsistent policies represent […]
BrightSource Energy is making a big bet on CSP while others switch to PV The third huge US solar project from BrightSource Energy is its largest yet. At a whopping 750 MW it is the size of three or four US coal or gas plants. Its Rio Mesa Solar Electric Generating Facility in California will use the solar tower technology it inherited from Israel's Luz, its parent company (Luz Rises Again as BrightSource for California) in which a field of mirrors on poles reflects sunlight onto a tower to create steam to drive a turbine to make electricity. But it comes at a time when many utility-scale solar companies are switching to PV (photovoltaic) solar - those traditional rooftop solar panels that most people associate with solar - from Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) such as this. Why?
A coal utility in Israel and the global leader in solar panel production form a joint project Everybody knows that China is the world leader in cheap solar. By contrast, Israel has barely begun to tap the global solar market. Yet the world’s largest solar panel producer in China, Suntech, has invited Israel’s state-owned electric […]
Israel’s SolarEdge is making solar energy most cost-effective SolarEdge Technologies Inc, whose patented Solar Power Harvesting and Optimization System is beginning to receive good reviews, will be exhibiting their products at the upcoming Solar Power International Trade Show in Dallas Texas.The Israel based solar energy company, with offices in the USA, Europe and Japan will […]
$10 million is the lucky number for two Israeli cleantech companies and Al Gore. Tigo’s Maximizer can add hundreds of hours worth of sun to your utility bill. A fund that Al Gore’s chaired has already invested $10 million in an Israeli cleantech company – GreenRoad, a company that has a software solution to manage […]
Environmental Studies in Israel, Enlight Renewable Energy’s recent surge, Leviathan Energy, and more headlines related to Israeli cleantech and the environment. With the aid of a 700,000 euro grant from Europe Aid, the Local Energy Center launched this past week and will help local authorities reduce stress on the power grid and become more energy […]
Two award-winning companies – Aldar Properties and Enviromena – team up to solar power an Abu Dhabi school. ALDAR Properties is one of the largest real estate development, management and investment companies headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Their development portfolio includes hotels, marinas, schools, gulf courses, estates management, and theme parks. They are the people behind […]
The year 2010 was a big year for Israel’s solar industry. A groundbreaking renewable energy agreement was made to help the country meet its goal of producing 10% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 while partnerships in solar energy distribution deals and more were signed by Israeli solar companies abroad. Here’s two videos […]
BrightSource’s latest deals, Tel Aviv’s light rail, EUREKA in Israel and more headlines related to Israeli cleantech and the environment. Innowattech and the Israel National Roads Company (INRC) have developed a new technology that can detect overloaded trucks without their having to stop. Natural building techniques are being reintroduced to Bedouins in Israel’s south and […]
Has affordable solar energy without government subsidies finally arrived? ZenithSolar, a solar energy tech company, has launched a new solar system on Kibbutz Yavne in Israel that achieves 72% solar efficiency, provides both hot water and electricity and doesn’t require the need of subsidies.