Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa are planning 73.4 GW of utility-scale wind and solar projects, which equates to a more than five-fold increase in current capacity, according to a report by the US-based NGO Global Energy Monitor. Marks a serious shift away from oil and gas.
Countries in the region, including some of the world's leading oil producers, are betting mostly on solar, with more than 49.5 GW of utility-scale solar projects expected to be operational by the end of the decade. Wind energy is planned to add more than 11.3 GW of capacity by 2030, while a 12.5 GW solar project in Oman is scheduled to come online by 2038.
With more than 39.7 GW of potential solar and wind projects, Oman, Morocco and Algeria are emerging as hotspots on the MENA green energy map, accounting for more than half of planned new solar and wind projects in the region.
Oman tops the list of Arab countries switching from fossil fuels to green energy. The sultanate has announced, is developing or is constructing 15.3 GW of solar projects, far exceeding the country's expected 0.3 GW for gas-fired power plants and 0.04 GW for oil-based projects.
Morocco came in second, with 14.4 GW of utility-scale solar and wind projects planned over the next five years. This is equivalent to six times the gas capacity planned for deployment in North Africa.
In terms of solar and wind power generation, the top three Arab countries are Egypt with 3.5 GW, the UAE with 2.6 GW and Morocco with 1.9 GW.
The Global Energy Monitor noted in its report that the scale of solar and wind projects in the region is far greater than in the rest of the world. The NGO said the average size of future solar parks in the region is about four times that of the rest of the world, and the average size of wind farms is more than one and a half times that of the rest of the world.