DESERTEC signs MOU with Morocco

DESERTEC which is a non-profit foundation for the promotion of renewable energy development in areas of abundant renewable energy, has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Moroccan government Agency for the Development of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficency (ADEREE) to consolidate the partnership between the two enetities. DESERTEC will be supporting ADEREE in its strategy and in the exchange of know-how, expertise and policy development. The MOU was signed in October 2012.


Morocco, which imports most of its energy supply, plans to supply 42% of its energy requirments from renewable energy and reduce overall demand by 12% by 2020.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Jordan most attractive Cleantech markets in MENA

A recent 2012 report by Ernst & Young concluded that Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Jordan as the most attractive Cleantech markets in the MENA region due to their government plans, budgets and long-term strategies. These countries have demonstrated investments in large initiatives such as KACARE for Saudi Arabia, Masdar for UAE and the ‘Green’ FIFA World Cup 2022 for Qatar. Although Jordan has limited financial resources, a new law was issued on renewable energy, which may help create new jobs by increasing local content requirements for investments in renewable energy.

The report also identifies the main drivers of Cleantech growth across the MENA region as: government policy, cost of the renewable energy, desire to reduce the use of fossil fuels, increased business efficiency and Job creation as a result of population growth and elevated rates of unemployment.

The report also sights broad opinion that Solar energy would be the leading Cleantech in the MENA region with Photovoltaic (PV) as the main solar technology for the MENA region followed by Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) by a lesser extent. The report sights in its survey that the lead of PV over CSP was justified mainly by the price per watt compared with the other technologies.