< PreviousSaudi Arabia will be one of a hand- ful of countries expected to receive state-of-the-art advanced nuclear reactors from China and Russia, according to a new report. The report, “Advancing Nuclear Innova- tion: Responding to Climate Change and Strengthening Global Security,” was com- missioned by the Global Nexus Initiative. This is a project established by the Partner- ship for Global Security, a Washington DC- based think tank, and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), which represents the US nuclear energy industry. It is a publicly avail- able assessment of the non-proliferation, security, and geopolitical characteristics of advanced nuclear-reactor technology. The report, which took 16 experts over a year to produce, says that advanced reac- tors will likely be ready for deployment within one to two decades, setting the stage for major technological competition among powerful geopolitical rivals. Although complicated by politics, the eco- nomic case for countries to invest in civil nuclear reactors as part of a mix of alterna- tive energy sources is compelling. The Global Nexus Initiative report says the international community should strive to make sure that A general benefit of nuclear energy is its potential role in producing carbon-dioxide emission-free electric- ity for a number of purposes. For the foreseeable future, renewable energy sources like wind and sun will prob- ably not be able to deliver the output needed, such as in industrial development.” John Bernhard, Partnership for Global Security any race for market share among geopoliti- cal competitors strengthens nuclear gover- nance rather than weakens it. “In order to meet the energy and climate challenges which the world faces, advanced reactors should be ready for deployment in the 2025 to 2030 framework,” said John Ber- nhard, a senior associate at the Partnership for Global Security who earlier served as Denmark’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “These reactors will generally have vari- ous advantages — they are smaller and more fl exible than traditional reactors, which means inter alia that in many countries, including Saudi Arabia, they can be deployed in remote and arid areas.” Saudi Arabia’s growing electricity needs are currently met almost entirely by oil and natural gas. In 2016, for example, 40 percent of its electricity came from oil. The result is a loss of potential export revenue. What is more, Saudi Arabia expects a 40 percent jump in electricity demand between 2019 and 2030, according to Khalid Al-Falih, the energy minister. Electricity use will rise in the Kingdom due to the ongoing growth of urban areas and plans to develop a strong manufactur- ing sector. At the same time, according to the Electricity and Cogeneration Regula- tory Authority (ECRA), nine percent of the electricity is used for desalination, on which Gulf countries are heavily dependent in the 10 Utilities Middle East / August 2019 www.utilities-me.com NEWS ANALYSISabsence of fresh-water sources. Compared with traditional nuclear reac- tors, the advanced ones can off er reduced construction time and costs, and a wider variety of sizes and outputs for diff erent loca- tions and applications. “Besides emission-free electricity gener- ation, they may help in desalination of sea water, which could provide a new source of fresh water to areas in need,” Bernhard said. “A general benefi t of nuclear energy is its potential role in producing carbon-dioxide emission-free electricity for a number of pur- poses. For the foreseeable future, renewable partly from advanced reactors.” The economic case for countries to invest in civil nuclear reactors as part of a mix of alternative energy sources is com- pelling. A case in point is Saudi Arabia. Among the many goals of its Vision 2030 is a reduction in dependency on oil revenues. To this end, the government has set ambitious goals for renewables, such as 9.5 gigawatts of solar and wind power by 2023. According to Lady Barbara Judge, former head of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, advanced nuclear reactors are modern, safer, smaller, more convenient and com- pact. So, “if a country like Saudi Arabia is starting a nuclear program, it might as well start with the best new technology on the market because that’s a great advantage,” she told Arab News. “Saudi Arabia starts with a clean slate and it’s a very fortunate position to be in.” With their nuclear-export strategy linked to their geopolitical ambitions, Russia and China have an advantage in the development of advanced reactors thanks to state fi nan- cial backing. These reactors will generally have various advan- tages — they are smaller and more flexible than tradi- tional reactors, which means inter alia that in many countries, including Saudi Arabia, they can be deployed in remote and arid areas.” John Bernhard, Partnership for Global Security IN NUMBERS 40% - Percentage of Saudi Arabia’s electricity produced by burning oil in 2016 9% - Percentage of electricity used by Kingdom for desalina- tion of sea water 9.5 giga wattes - Saudi Arabia’s combined target in gi- gawatts of solar and wind power by 2023 40% - Percentage rise expected in Saudi electricity de- mand between 2019 and 2030 2x - Fuel burned by Saudi Elec- tricity Company during summer months as during the rest of the year energy sources like wind and sun will proba- bly not be able to deliver the output needed, such as in industrial development.” Nuclear-energy experts say advanced reactors off er interesting new possibilities, especially for nuclear newcomers such as Saudi Arabia. “From a climate-change standpoint, this may be a valuable contribution to the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals from some of the biggest oil-producing coun- tries,” Bernhard said. “I would expect that for various reasons, several Gulf states will be interested in including nuclear energy, www.utilities-me.com August 2019 / Utilities Middle East 11 NEWS ANALYSISBoard for the development of nuclear energy in the UAE. “So you need to have a stable force of clean energy which is available around the clock to back up any other system of power generation.” Of course there is no glossing over the importance of the newcomers ensuring, in cooperation with the IAEA, that their nuclear facilities, whether advanced or traditional, live up to the highest standards and require- ments with regard to security. Nuclear technology can have dual use, peaceful or weaponized. An extensive and eff ective international safeguards regime, implemented by the IAEA, exists to contain the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. However, because of their unique features, advanced reactors do not easily fi t into the existing national regulatory or international governance regimes, according to the Global Nexus Initiative’s report. In fact, they pose new challenges for the safeguards system. As such, they will be subject to new secu- rity measures to help prevent a hostile out- side attack, nuclear terrorism and insider sabotage. “These new technological Bernhard said: “Several countries with a nuclear energy tradition and industry are involved in the development of advanced reactors. “At the moment, it seems that in particu- lar Russia and China have positioned them- selves strongly, because of years of experi- ence in this fi eld and state involvement in fi nancing. “There is a clear geopolitical angle to this. For instance, the sale and servicing of new facilities normally will promote and uphold strong political and economic relations between the providing and the receiving countries for a long period of time.” The peaceful use of nuclear energy has been globally important for more than 60 years, resulting in 452 nuclear reactor units in 32 countries, most of them in Europe, North America, East Asia, and South Asia. “Nuclear energy is clean and generates 24/7 so it’s a good companion to sun and wind. Renewables such as solar and wind are excellent sources of energy but depen- dent on weather conditions, which aren’t always stable,” said Lady Judge, who is also a member of the International Advisory challenges must be eff ectively addressed,” the authors of “Advancing Nuclear Innova- tion” say. “Several countries are focused on developing advanced reactors, including the US, Canada, South Korea, the UK, France, Russia and China. But the lack of a developed regulatory system and regulator experience is a challenge for all nations.” As advanced nuclear reactors move through the design and development phase, it is also vital to have well-developed test beds to demonstrate the technology, the report says, adding that Russia and China have an advantage in this area. According to Dr. Peter Bode, a former asso- ciate professor in nuclear science and tech- nology at Delft University in the Netherlands, the use of nuclear-power plants in the future energy mix is beyond debate. “Solar, wind and other renewables will not be suffi cient,” he said. “But the future of nuclear in the region is positive, with plants in the UAE expected to be operational soon and used as an example that will quickly be followed by others.” In a region where the future of oil and gas is unknown, nuclear power is expected to play a signifi cant role. “It is a good companion, even currently, and certainly in the future,” Lady Judge said. “And that feeling of energy security and energy independence, which nuclear brings, is one which many countries in the Gulf would like to share.” Nuclear energy is clean and generates 24/7 so it’s a good companion to sun and wind. Renewables such as solar and wind are excellent sources of energy but dependent on weather conditions, which aren’t always stable.” Lady Judge, UAE Nuclear From a climate-change standpoint, this may be a valuable contribution to the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals from some of the biggest oil-producing countries,” Bernhard said. “I would expect that for various rea- sons, several Gulf states will be interested in includ- ing nuclear energy, partly from advanced reactors.” John Bernhard,Partnership for Global Security 12 Utilities Middle East / August 2019 www.utilities-me.com NEWS ANALYSISLegislation and the evolving grid push utilities towards an increasingly data-heavy environment From legislation to grid evolution – What’s next for AMI? The electricity meter market con- tinues to accelerate its shift from basic to communicating meters as utilities head towards a data- driven future. Nearly two-thirds of the 1.6 billion meters shipping between 2018 and 2025 will be communicating, boosted by several large smart meter rollouts within EMEA and Asia Pacifi c regions. A short-term peak will occur in 2020 before the market rebounds again through 2025, as a result of the various rollout cycles that aff ect the overall forecast (particularly where ahead of schedule, such as Japan and South Korea). In contrast, the North Ameri- can market maintains a steady growth with no major rollouts expected in the next few years, whilst Latin America continues to show potential for growth. LEGISLATION STILL KEY DRIVER The main driver for this current shift towards communication remains the same – legislation and national mandates. Long-run- ning, legislation-driven rollout programmes in the European Union and China continue to drive much of the volume; Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and China account for nearly 57% of the total market shipments during the forecast period. For countries that provided a positive cost benefi t analysis, the EU’s Third Package had a target of 80% smart metering coverage by 2020. Meanwhile, China has several initia- tives helping drive smart metering, including the 13th Five-Year Plan, whereupon the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) has cre- ated a plan for smart grid investment to align with this mandate. Although these short term drivers remain strong for AMI investment, organic demand for smart metering from utilities is growing as they look beyond meter-to-cash. EVOLVING THE ELECTRIC GRID The long-term drivers for metering will come more from grid evolution and two par- ticular regions are already approaching it dif- ferently: Africa and Asia Pacifi c. EMEA is often classed as a mature market overall, but the true picture is more detailed; Europe is the established market, Middle East is the evolving market, and Africa is the emerging market. Africa has one of the lowest rates for access to electricity, but the grid is changing as more buildings are becom- ing connected. This increases the need for metering, although likely basic or AMR for the foreseeable future due to the lower cost and lack of funding typically available. However, Africa has very low barriers to entry for AMI technology. In most areas there is no previous infra- structure needing adaptation, repairing or replacing to allow for communicating meters, whilst less regulations or standards also provide lower barriers to technology adoption too. Where funding can be secured for specifi c projects, AMI therefore has huge transformational potential for African utili- ties, but pure electrifi cation eff orts more typ- ically drive metering investment into lower technology solutions. The largest rollout plan in Asia Pacifi c is India. They are advancing from basic (or no) meter with a very large smart meter roll- out; the government having announced plans to have install 50 million communicat- ing meters, which alone would drive a 10% increase in the global market total. However, delays are expected due to the complexity of the tenders, with only one major tender deploying any signifi cant volume to date. In contrast, organic drivers for metering across the rest of Asia Pacifi c are more typically smart grid and communicat- ing meter focused. Legislation and govern- ment initiatives typically center more around smart grids and smart cities, for example in China, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. There are over 1,000 smart cities planned for deployment over the next decade, with nearly half of these being in China. These par- ticular grid evolutions are driven by energy theft, growing shifts towards renewable resources, and social changes, all alongside the global increase in electricity demand. In all cases, grid evolution will drive the need for communicating meters rather than basic, as utilities seek to understand and anal- yse grid status through data networks. MORE THAN JUST A CONSUMPTION METER The next decade will see the shift take place from legislation-driven AMI and towards organic utility need for AMI through grid evo- lution. As a result, utilities will focus less on implementing the lowest cost solution to simply satisfy a mandate, and increasingly focus on the total cost of ownership for sys- tems (including communication network) and loading more applications into the solu- tion (such as outage management). This approach will help drive the next level of demand for communicating electricity meters, pushing volumes from the current magnitude of 100 million per year, up to the order of 1 billion installations by 2025, as util- ities look to make the communicating meter even smarter. WORLD MARKET FOR ELECTRICITY METERS BY TYPE U n it s h ip m e nt s ( m illions ) Basic meters 20192020202120222023202420252018 250 200 150 100 50 0 Communicating meters Source: IHS Markit© 2019 IHS Markit www.utilities-me.com August 2019 / Utilities Middle East 13 NEWS ANALYSISSaudi’s Shuaibah desalination plant inaugurated SHUAIBAH SOLAR Abengoa, the international company that applies innovative technol- ogy solutions for sustainability in the infrastructures, energy and water sec- tors, has inaugurated together with its part- ner Fisia Italiampianti a reverse osmosis desalination plant in the Shuaibah complex, in Saudi Arabia. The Project is the largest desalination plant built by Abengoa to date, with a capacity of 250,000 m3/day. In addi- tion, the Project has already produced 20 million cubic meters of desalinated water since the successful completion of the tests required for the Project. Abengoa and Fisia Italiampianti were responsible for the engineering, procure- ment and construction (EPC) of the Project. Saudi Water Partnership Company (“SWPC”) are acting as the off taker for the project, while ACWA Power is the owner and operator of the Project. In the presence of the Governor of Makkah Province, HRH Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud and of His Excellency Abdurrahman Al-Fadli, Minister of Environment, Water and Agricul- ture and Chairman of SWPC, the inauguration ceremony was attended on behalf of Abengoa by the CEO of the company, Joaquín Fernández de Piérola, and the head of Middle East, Antonio Moreno. As pointed out by the CEO of Abengoa, “The desalination plant of Shuaibah has entered into commercial operation 21 months after the start of the construction works, meeting the dead- line committed by the construction consor- tium.” THE LATEST NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW ON THE GCC & IRAQ TENDERS, CONTRACT WINS AND PROJECTS UNDERWAY Oman Power and Water Procurement Co (OPWP), the sultanate’s sole procurer of elec- tricity and water, has invited proposals for developing two solar projects with a com- bined capacity of around 1.1GW. In a bid to diversify the energy sources and to reduce dependence on natural gas for the pro- duction of electricity, the sultanate has decided to focus on solar power generation. In a statement posted on its website OPWP said, ‘In line with Oman’s vision to diversify fuel sources through the use of clean energy for power gen- eration and following the procurement of Ibri II solar PV, OPWP is planning to develop the second phase of the solar programme known as Manah Solar I IPP and Manah Solar II IPP with each having a capacity generation between 500MW to 600MW.” OPWP to develop Manah Solar I IPP and Manah Solar II IPP The reverse osmosis desalination plant has a water supply capacity of 250,000 m3/ day and is located in the Makkah region The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) has just launched a call for pre-qualifi cation (RfQ) for the second plant of the Noor Midelt solar thermal and photovoltaic complex (Noor Midelt II), as part of the development of the solar com- plex Noor Midelt. This call, which also comes after the auction of the Noor Midelt I concentrating solar power plant, is the fi rst step in the selection process of the private partner in charge of design, fi nancing, construction, operation and maintenance of a concentrated solar energy plant with storage, explains the agency. Masen also states that Noor Midelt II will bring together all the solar technologies with mature storage., in particular Photovoltaics (PV) and Con- centrated Solar Power (CSP). Noor Midelt II CSP Moroccos’ Noor Midelt II call for pre-qualification launched Both the projects will be located at Manah, which is around 150km south west from Muscat. Each project will be developed as a private sector project by appropriately qualifi ed developers. OPWP is announcing the launch of the qualifi - cation process for the developers through the request for qualifi cation (RfQ), the statement revealed. Contracts Tender for 1.1GW Oman solar IPP MOROCCO 14 Utilities Middle East / August 2019 www.utilities-me.comKuwait increases renewables target, eyes up to 400mw of CSP WIND EDF-Masdar consortium awards Dumat Al Jandal EPC deal to Vestas Danish renewables fi rm to deliver wind turbines and maintenance services for 415MW wind megaproject in Al Jouf Kuwait has expanded its 2030 renewables target at the Shagaya renewable energy complex to 4 GW but CSP developers will have to wait until a third phase of develop- ment, due online in 2025-26, to secure proj- ects, Osamah Alsayegh, Executive Director of Energy & Building Research Center at KISR, told New Energy Update. In February, Kuwait started commercial op- erations at its 50 MW Shagaya CSP plant, mark- ing the completion of phase 1 of the Shagaya renewable energy park. Developed by the Kuwait Institute for Sci- entifi c Research (KISR), the Shagaya park was launched in 2012 and was originally expected to host 2 GW of capacity by 2030, across three phases. KISR initially recommended a gen- eration mix at the park of 56% CSP capacity-- equivalent to 1.15 GW-- alongside 35% PV and 7.5% wind, reported New Energy Update. Kuwait’s electricity demand is expected to triple by 2030 and the Shagaya complex forms part of Kuwait’s target to generate 15% of its electricity from renewable sources. KISR has now decided to add a fourth phase to the park and raise its 2030 target at the site to 4 GW, but CSP developers will miss out on much of this expansion, Alsayegh told New Energy Update. In phase 2, Kuwait National Petroleum Com- pany (KNPC) will develop 1.5 GW of capacity and has decided to install 100% PV technology, despite KISR recommending 20 to 30% CSP capacity to improve dispatchability. As a result, CSP capacity at Shagaya will be far below KISR’s initial recommendations and developers will have to wait until phase 3 to bid for projects, Alsayegh said. CSP supply and installation of 99 V150-4.2 MW wind turbines. It also includes a 20-year active output man- agement 4000 (AOM 4000) service agreement for the operation and maintenance of the wind park. The Dumat Al Jandal project was awarded to the Emirati-French consortium by Saudi Ara- bia’s Renewable Energy Project Development Offi ce (Repdo), part of the Saudi Arabian Minis- try of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources, in January 2019. Once operational, the Dumat Al Jandal plant will produce electricity under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Saudi Power Procurement Company. “With our 4 MW platform’s market-leading cost of energy and our expertise throughout the entire wind energy value chain, the project delivers sustainable energy and develops the region’s renewable energy industry,” said Eduardo Medina, president of Vestas Mediter- ranean. Danish renewables fi rm Vestas has won an order from a consortium of France’s EDF Renewables and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) for the 415MW Dumat Al Jandal wind park in Saudi Arabia’s Al Jouf, marking a signifi cant step in the kingdom’s drive to boost its renewable energy produc- tion. Vestas said the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract covers the Emirates Water and Electricity Company PJSC (EWEC), the UAE’s leading procurer of water and electricity, issued a tender for the construction and development of a new 2,000 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power project to be located at Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi. The new project forms part of a series of proj- ects approved by the higher Committee for the Water and Electricity Sector in Abu Dhabi. International and local companies are among 24 bidders pre-qualifi ed to build the world’s largest single-site solar plant in Abu Dhabi, a spokesman for the fi rm in-charge of managing the emirate’s water and power said last month. This follows the receipt by EWEC earlier this year of 48 Expression of Interests (EOIs) from leading international and local developers. Kuwait started operations at its 50MW Shagaya CSP plant Abu Dhabi is building a new 2000 megawatt (MW) solar PV project 24 fi rms for new UAE solar plant ABU DHABI In line with the successful Independent Water and Power Producer (IWPP) program launched by the Abu Dhabi government in 1998, successful bidders would hold a 40% equity participation in the project, with the remaining stake held by local entities. CONTRACTS www.utilities-me.com August 2019 / Utilities Middle East 15INDUSTRY TRENDS 16 Utilities Middle East / August 2019 www.utilities-me.com Over the next fi ve years, the MENA region will need to invest $209bn in the power sector according to the latest MENA Power Investment Outlook 2019-2023 report issued by The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (API- CORP), a multilateral development fi nancial institution. “We have observed that a large share of the funding requirements in MENA’s energy sector will go to the power sector, of which renew- ables account for a substantial share of around 34%,” said Dr. Leila Benali, chief economist at APICORP. Between 2019 and 2023, APICORP esti- mates that investment in the MENA energy sector could reach $1trn, with the power sector accounting for the largest share at 36%, 2019-23 According to APICORP, the power sector con- tinues to evolve throughout the MENA region, driven by the need for countries to meet demand growth, diversify their economies and create effi ciencies. The MENA region will require the addition of 88GW by the end of 2023 to meet demand growth. Governments have been accelerating their investment plans and APICORP estimates that 87GW of capacity additions are already at execution stage. This is expected to translate into $142bn for power generation, and approximately $68bn for transmission and distribution. PRIVATE SECTOR FINANCING DEPENDENT ON SECTOR REFORMS AND GOVERNMENT GUARANTEES spurred by growing electricity demand and greater momentum for renewable energy, noted the report. “We also estimate that MENA power capac- ity will need to expand by an average of 4% each year between 2019 and 2023, which cor- responds to 88GW by 2023, to meet rising con- sumption and pent-up demand,” Benali con- tinued.” Highly leveraged power projects in the region continue to be largely fi nanced based on non-recourse or limited recourse structure, with debt-equity ratios in the 60:40 to 80:20 range, even 85:15 for lower risk profi le projects backed by strong government payment guar- antee.” 88GW OF GENERATION CAPACITY NEEDS COULD BE INSTALLED OVER Close to 87GW of generation capacity is currently under execution, driven by the UAE (19%), followed by Saudi Arabia (17%) and Egypt (16%) MENA POWER SECTOR NEEDS $209BN INVESTMENTS UNTIL 2023INDUSTRY TRENDS www.utilities-me.com August 2019 / Utilities Middle East 17 While the government remains involved at dif- ferent phases of power projects, even in PPPs, the private sector is critical for risk manage- ment due to its track record in performance, technology and cost effi ciency that it provides for fi nancing. “Greater participation and fi nancing from the private sector is imperative to the energy sectors growth; as more evenly shared respon- sibility in fi nancing will ensure a reliable supply of competitively priced power,” said Mustafa Ansari, senior economist at APICORP. “The energy sector represents signifi cant opportunities for private sector fi nancing in the long term.” APICORP anticipates governments and cen- tral authorities to continue to remain involved particularly in central generation and trans- mission, and it has noticed some forays of pri- vate sector into distributed power through aggregating sites or clusters and leasing. ELECTRICITY DEMAND GROWTH TO SLOW OVER THE MEDIUM TERM LEADING TO SOME OVERBUILDING During the period between 2007 and 2017, electricity consumption in the MENA region increased by 5.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) driven by rapid economic growth, industrialisation, rising income levels, high population growth rates and urbanisation, all coupled with low electricity prices. Outside the GCC, countries have been strug- gling to keep up with growing demand. In both cases, the trajectory of demand growth meant that the model was unsustainable for govern- ments, and - in a few cases – created suboptimal electricity systems. Eff orts to promote energy effi ciency and support the public with smarter and more responsible consumption, whilst tackling infrastructural and regulatory hurdles are equally important. Consequently, APICORP forecasts that over the next fi ve years, electric- ity demand growth will slow to around 3.8% CAGR. RENEWABLE ENERGY TO ACCOUNT FOR 34% OF POWER INVESTMENTS IN MENA APICORP predicts that close to USD 350 bil- lion could be invested in MENA’s power sector in the next fi ve years, with renewable energy accounting for 34% of power investment, or 12% of total energy investment. Renewable energy developments in the Arab world have gained tremendous momentum in recent years, driven primarily by governments that recognise the urgency of tackling rising demand for energy coupled with the declining costs of solar PV. “From a business model perspective, Jordan and Morocco have so far led the region with their renewable initiatives. Morocco’s target for renewable energy as a share of total gen- eration is ambitious, standing at 42% by 2020. However, across the region, the policy signals, change in business models and investment/ credit support required in grids and storage to accompany the introduction of renewables are yet to be seen,” added Benali. Close to 87GW of generation capacity is cur- rently under execution, driven by the UAE (19%), followed by Saudi Arabia (17%) and Egypt (16%), respectively The report indicates that Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to diversify its electricity gen- eration mix with considerable renewable and nuclear capacities. Demand slow down and the ensuing overbuilding are anticipated to continue in the Kingdom, even as it embarks on transforming its power sector. The report noted that the most infl uential factors slowing domestic demand in Saudi Arabia have argu- ably been policy driven. Elsewhere, the UAE needs to invest at least $16.2bn to meet the expected additional 8GW capacity requirement over the medium term. The country is pushing strongly to diversify its energy sources in the power mix; and API- CORP estimates that nearly 14GW of capacity additions are already in execution. In Egypt, demand for electricity grew at a rate of 4.6% CAGR in the period between 2015 and 2017 and is expected to rise to 5.1% by 2023. APICORP projects that Egypt will need to invest $20bn in power generation and a further $10bn in transmission and distribution (T&D). This would help increase capacity in MENA’s most populous country to 63GW by 2023. Meanwhile in Iraq, there continues to be a gap between demand growth and available generating capacity. The country still faces power outages, and hence providing reliable electricity is at the heart of the government’s plans. APICORP forecasts that Iraq will need to invest $21bn in generation over the next fi ve years to take capacity up to 30GW. 18 Utilities Middle East / August 2019 www.utilities-me.com COVER FEATUREThe future looks bright for the Middle East’s distributed energy market with many more solar panels expected to adorn rooftops of commercial and industrial buildings. Utilities Middle East speaks to Yellow Door Energy, a leading commercial- scale solar developer in the Middle East about its expansion plans following a $65mn Series A round of funding it received early this year. By Baset Asaba DOOR TO SOLAR www.utilities-me.com August 2019 / Utilities Middle East 19 COVER FEATURENext >