Middle East

Major Australian renewable energy portfolio holder Global Power Generation Australia, jointly owned by Spain’s Naturgy and an arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority, is reportedly going up for auction early next year.

A study by engineers at UNSW, published in the Renewable Energy journal, shows that aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions reduce the productivity of photovoltaic installations and that this differs according to the global region.  

Scientists from Israel have calculated how long it would take for PV plants and afforestation projects to offset their warming impacts caused by the darkening of land. The results showed that in drylands, PV fields could be over 50 times more efficient than afforestation.

The 150 MW/300 MWh Ulinda Park battery project planned for Queensland’s Western Downs region is a step closer to a final investment decision with battery and renewable energy developer Akaysha Energy inking a hedging deal designed to manage revenue-related risks for the estimated $150 million (USD 100 million) project.

SolarEdge’s new bidirectional DC-coupled electric-vehicle (EV) charger enables vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid applications and can seamlessly integrate with its home energy systems. It is scheduled for release in the second half of 2024.

Dutch startup Airturb has developed a 500 W hybrid wind-solar power system featuring a vertical axis wind turbine and a solar base hosting four 30 W solar panels. The system can be used for rooftop or off-grid applications.

The European Commission has presented the final version of its new rules for green hydrogen, with looser requirements to qualify hydrogen as “green.”

SolarEdge’s revenue rose 58% year over year to USD 3.1 billion ($4.5 billion) in 2022. It expects revenues for the first quarter of 2023 to be within the range of $1.33 billion to $1.37 billion.

An international consortium led by Israel’s Al-Zahrawi Society has launched the Regace project to develop agrivoltaic solutions for greenhouses. It will investigate the performance of a new tracking system across locations and climates and use carbon dioxide enrichment to improve crop yield.

The World Future Energy Summit showed that Middle Eastern solar markets are still driven by utility-scale PV, although the C&I sector shows signs of growth. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are the most promising markets for big solar projects, with huge pipelines under development, while Lebanon and Yemen show promise due to chronic energy shortages.