EQ Webinar on UAE RoofTop/Distributed Solar Market – Opportunities & Challenges Powered by LONGi Solar
EQ Magazine hosted a webinar on UAE RoofTop/Distributed Solar Market – Opportunities & Challenges. Powered by LONGi Solar, the webinar was presented on July 5, 2021.
Experts in the panel discussed the market in UAE, policy and regulations, business opportunities, financing, business model, issues related to supply chain and various other aspects.
Session 1
The webinar had two sessions. Nabih Cherradi, CTO, Desert Technologies, participated as moderator of the first session. Other panellists of the first session were Ahmed Al-khuffash, Regional Sales Manager, Middle East, LONGi Solar, Sunil Bansal, Founder and Director, Diwakar Renewable & Infra, L.K. Verma, MD- Power-n-Sun and Jimmy George, Business Development Manager, Solar PV and Energy Efficiency Solutions – Yellow Door Energy.
Nabih Cherradi in his opening address said that Rooftop is also considered a big part of this market. It has its own finance mechanism and the nature of installations is also different. He said that outsider challenges are quite a lot over there.
About LONGi
The first speaker Ahmed Al-khuffash, Regional Sales Manager, Middle East, LONGi Solar shared details about his company. “Mainly, we are mainly a wafer manufacturer. We continue to have the highest market share in the polysilicon wafer manufacturer.”
Currently, the company has a market share of about 45 per cent and the company is increasing its capacity year by year. Around 30 per cent of the company’s income goes to R&D in order to maintain its position. LONGi has more than 60000 global employees.
LONGi is World’s leading Mono Silicon Wafer Manufacturer. The Wafer shipment of the company is more than 58 GW, whereas the wafer capacity is currently more than 85 GW.
In 2020, LONGi was the first solar technology company to ship more than 24.5 GW of modules in one year. The company is also leading in terms of financial health, he informed.
LONGi has also been rated 100 per cent bankable in BloombergNEF’s survey of PV Modules. The company has been ranked as the only AAA-rated manufacturer in the PV Module Tech Bankability Ratings. “We are always looking for innovation in products. Recently, we have launched our N-type module,” he said.
UAE Market and Opportunities
Sunil Bansal, Founder and Director, Diwakar Renewable & Infra shared his point of view on the RoofTop business in UAE. Talking about the UAE market and opportunities, he said, “The UAE has taken wonderful initiatives which are really good for the entire world.” He spoke on other models of RoofTop including RESCO.
“In UAE market, there is a lot of opportunity in RESCO. The regulations and other government rules are quite investor-friendly in UAE. A lot of Indian investors are interested to come to Dubai and do RESCO projects. Apart from the residential sector, there are a lot of opportunities in the commercial and industrial sector in UAE.”
“Dubai is the hub of commercial activity. A lot of industries are already available and many are coming in near future. In the industrial sector, we can reduce our cost to power substantially along with contribution to the environment.”
Further, he said, “We request UAE government and regulators to promote lots of RESCO activity in this sector. This will support to achieve UAE targets also.”
About Power-n-Sun
L.K. Verma, MD- Power-n-Sun shared his views on UAE RoofTop Solar Business. Introducing Power-n-Sun, he said, “We are basically a wholesaler. We do closely around 250-300 MW per year in terms of PV Modules and inverters.”
The company specializes in reducing the Project Turnaround time by at least 30 per cent. “We work with most of the Tier I companies. We are also a strategic partner of LONGi here in this region.”
Challenges for RoofTop
Touching on the main subject- RoofTop, L.K. Verma said, “Producing the power right on the top of the load is a very unique feature which makes this active and popular. Another important aspect of the rooftop is that it touches many lives.”
Discussing the challenges, he said, “There are many challenges on a RoofTop, especially in the Middle East region. One, the environment is very hot, humid and dusty. Another challenge is that the entire has many expatriates that are on the rental systems.”
He highlighted another challenge regarding financial models that can be extended to develop and accelerate the speed of solarization in the rooftop sector. “In UAE, the C&I sector is still working with right speed but the residential sector still has to develop.”
Further, speaking on the best mechanism to attract more development, he said, “We need to work on different dimensions- policymakers, financing and customized & standardized solutions.”
Yellow Door Energy
Jimmy George, Business Development Manager, Solar PV and Energy Efficiency Solutions – Yellow Door Energy, shared a presentation about his company. He discussed the opportunities and challenges in the UAE Rooftop solar market. Introducing his company, he informed that Yellow Door Energy is a provider of solar are energy efficiency solutions for commercial and industrial customers.
Established in the year 2015, the company has achieved over 120 MW of solar assets across the region. Further, he discussed the performance and safety-related challenges and the solutions company came up with the rooftop solar projects in the region.
Challenges and their solutions
He discussed the challenges and solutions offered by the company. “One of the main challenges is to take care of the rooftop solar plants is the safety of all team members. We follow very strict QHSE standards on all our technical designs to guarantee that all safety measures are being considered.”
Talking about the soiling impact, he spoke on the challenge related to it and its solutions. “The natural solution to mitigate the soling impact is to clean the PV modules regularly. This is where the robotic cleaning solution creates an impact.”
“Another performance-related challenge in this region is due to high temperature that reduces the operating voltage of the PV modules. We need to find ways to mitigate the impact of the weather on our power plants.
In order to maximize the performance of our solar plants, we use the latest technologies such as drones with infrared, cameras that detect cracked cells and other defects caused by extreme weather conditions,” he said. The session ended with an interactive question and answer round.
Session 2
In this session, speakers shed light on the challenges, opportunities, policies, technology advancements and investors in the C&I segment. Panellists also discussed solar Rooftop options for the region and the best practices.
Mustapha Taoumi, Clean Energy Technology Key Expert – EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network, moderated the session. Panellists of the second session included Ashok Thangavel, Head of Solar – Al Naboodah Electrics LLC; Rahul Anurag, Head-Business Development Solar Projects – Voltas and Oguz Tosun, Country Head – Turkey Enking International (EKI Energy Services Ltd.).
In the opening address, Mustapha Taoumi said, “We are witnessing a shift toward clean and affordable electricity in the world. It is most visible in the rapid proliferation of solar panels mounted on the roofs of homes, businesses and buildings.
Individuals and businesses have been attracted not just to the environmental benefits of the solar but also to the ability to generate own power, to the fixed and competitive price of the electricity that the system generates.”
Today, Rooftop solar is increasingly cost-effective for the customers and their community. He said, “Rooftop solar can be installed in cities and towns as opposed to the remote locations. It offers also jobs for local engineers, technicians and others.
About Voltas
Rahul Anurag, Head-Business Development Solar Projects – Voltas, introduced his company. Sharing a brief on the organization, he informed that Voltas is a Tata Group company. “Primarily in the Middle East, we are the major MEP contractors who have been in this region for almost 40 years.”
Voltas is one of the main EPC contractors based in India. “We have already executed more than 3000 MW of solar project. Currently, we are executing our largest solar project in India which is around 300 MW.”
In his address, he discussed the Market segment and drivers of Solar PV adoption- Climate change, Regulation, Grid parity and PV cost reduction. “climate change is real and it is our collective responsibility to address it.”
Also, he discussed the current regulatory framework for rooftop PV in UAE and current electricity tariffs in UAE.
Further, he enlightened the current scenario in UAE. “Dubai is expected to add 80-100 MW annually for the next few years. UAE Market is primarily driven by the Dubai.” He also spoke on Unified Policy Framework, Minimum sustainability standards for new buildings and Hybrid/ Off-Grid segment.
About Al Naboodah Electrics LLC
Ashok Thangavel, Head of Solar – Al Naboodah Electrics LLC, shared his thoughts on the solar rooftop. Speaking about what ANE Solar does, he informed the categories under three headers- Services, Products and Distributed Generation.
Under the Services header, the company undertakes Operation & Maintenance, Energy Audits and Testing. With regards to products, the company has partnered with one of the leading firms in the region for solar-assisted pumping applications. “We have technical know-how and support from there.”
“About the Distributed Generation, we are keen and active in the core business which is Solar Rooftop EPC business, BIVP, Floating Solar and Solar streetlight,” he informed. He further spoke about the company and what it does.
Enking International
Oguz Tosun, Country Head – Turkey Enking International (EKI Energy Services Ltd.), addressed the solar power industry in the MENA region particularly UAE.
Also, he spoke on carbon offsetting and carbon pricing opportunities for the solar power industry in MENA. “Today’s solar power industry requires strong understanding for addressing carbon pricing opportunities to survive better in market.”
Introducing EKI Energy Services Limited, he said, “We are the largest carbon credit developer and supplier in the world.” He said that the MENA region, including Emirates, has a great potential of generating renewable electricity considering its solar power capacity.”
Carbon Offsetting
Oguz Tosun informed that carbon offsetting is an incentive scheme designed to support emission reduction activities in the sector. He explained carbon offsetting in detail. “Demand of carbon credits has doubled over the past three to four years.”
Further, he spoke on carbon standards available for Solar Projects in MENA. “One small scale project may not be financially feasible considering Auditing, Consulting and Carbon Standard Levy.
Considering this aspect, we are developing a collective carbon approach for those projects. He explained the Revenue Sharing Consulting.
“I strongly recommend for renewable energy project owners to go for carbon credits to involve in one of the oldest environmental markets in the world. This brings certain additional revenue, along with the chance for diversified co-benefits such as social, environmental and economic.
Conclusion
Panellists discussed the challenges and barriers for unlocking the full potential benefit of Solar PV Rooftop technologies in the Middle East and GCC regions. Raul Anurag said, “The other Emirates need to open up from a policy perspective. As the market increases, we will see more and more lenders coming in.”
“There should be some ways to promote green energy. Until and unless we make it a point to do that, I don’t think it becomes adaptable,” said Ashok Thangavel.
“In order to improve the current status of Rooftop and other solar power investment in the UAE, carbon offsetting would be a good option to create a different financial challenge.
I recommend all project owners of Rooftop or grid-connected renewable energy projects to apply for carbon offsetting and carbon standards.
We are ready to consult all of this process to make carbon credit issues possible in just one-year period,” said Oguz Tosun. The session concluded with a Q&A round.
