KUWAIT: The two oil-rich Middle Eastern states of Qatar and Kuwait recently announced partnerships with global organizations to initiate solar research and development activities. This might be influenced by an increased interest in renewables by Saudi Arabia and Masdar in Abu Dhabi.
The Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, inaugurated the country's first large-scale Solar Test Facility at Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) in Doha. A joint effort of QSTP, GreenGulf and Chevron, it aims to test emerging solar technologies from around the world to identify the best technology for the Gulf region.
The goal of the facility is to understand the performance of solar cells in the Qatari environment with high temperatures and humidity, study the impact of dust and moisture on performance, carry out an independent evaluation of solar system vendors, research to improve the performance of solar systems, and build local human and technical capacity as creation of a new Qatari company, GreenGulf.
This initiative seems to be in tandem with Qatar's aim to raise the share of solar power in electricity generation to 16 percent by 2018. QSTP is also involved in building a factory to produce 8000 MT of polysilicon.
In other related news, researchers at Kuwait University announced a “long-term” development agreement with Belgium-based IMEC to develop new types of solar cells. The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Didier Reynders, signed the agreement in Kuwait City during a ceremony alongside Kuwait University president, Abdullatif Al-Bader, and the Director General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, Adnan Shihab-Eldin.
Kuwait University joins IMEC’s wafer-based silicon solar cell industrial affiliation program, which is focused on advancing silicon solar cell processing technology. The Kuwaiti research team is said to have strong expertise in modeling and simulation, and will be able to provide an in-depth scientific understanding as IMEC’s researchers explore solar cells with higher efficiencies and lower costs.
Given that both Qatar and Kuwait are sun-rich, investment in research and development of PV technologies only seems a strategic measure to tap into the potential of solar energy generation. The Middle East region is certainly the up and coming hot spot for solar energy development given that there is recognition in the region that oil resources are not unlimited.
-- Fatima Toor, Lux Research
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