Arab states are embracing solar power

Are Arab countries doing more research on solar photovoltaics?

Arab countries increased their global share of academic articles on solar photovoltaics to almost 8%. This means that they are now punching above their weight for this topic, as Arabs account for 5.3% of the global population. The Arab leaders for the volume of research on this topic are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Iraq.

Which countries are developing solar power?

Between 2010 and 2017, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates all made considerable progress in installing facilities for wind and solar power generation. Under Algeria’s Tafouk 1 project, solar plants are being constructed in more than ten provinces (wilayas), covering a total area of around 6 400 ha.

How has energy research impacted the Arab region?

If we narrow the focus from energy research as a whole to research on renewable sources of energy, we find that the Arab region doubled its scientific output in this field over the period from 2012 to 2019. These topics include photovoltaics, hydropower, biofuels and biomass, wind turbine technologies and smart-grid technologies.

Is Abu Dhabi the world's largest solar power plant?

Between 2017 and 2021, the United Arab Emirates installed about 70% of the Gulf’s renewable energy capacity. In April 2019, the 1.2-GW Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Power Project began operating commercially. Co-financed by eight commercial banks and built within 23 months, it claims to be the world’s largest single-site plant of its kind.

Which countries are leading the research on solar photovoltaics?

The Arab leaders for the volume of research on this topic are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Iraq. Saudi Arabia comes second to Qatar for the intensity of scientific output on solar photovoltaics. Saudi universities have a policy of recruiting highly cited foreign scientists.

Which countries publish the most scientific papers on solar photovoltaics?

The three top Arab countries for the number of scientific publications per million inhabitants on solar photovoltaics are Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. These countries have shown strong growth in academic publishing in this field, as have Algeria, Egypt, Iraq and, above all, Morocco.