The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has some of the world’s best solar energy resources. Compared to the rest of the world, MENA’s solar resources have great potential for concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) because the technology uses both light and heat from the sun. Heat from MENA’s abundant sunshine has much greater comparative advantage than just the light. The technology to store heat improves with every project and the costs come down, meaning that soon CSP may be able to provide inexpensive solar energy all day, every day throughout the year.
Why do the Clean Technology Fund and the World Bank Group support CSP in MENA?
The abundance of sunshine and heat in MENA mean that each dollar invested in CSP megawatts will generate more energy than in other regions. Global costs of CSP will come down faster if CSP is deployed at scale in MENA. Both the region and the entire world stand to benefit.
What is standing in the way of the development of CSP in MENA?
Information about CSP’s advantages as a firm, ‘dispatchable’ power and secure energy source is still limited. To make informed decisions, policymakers and industry leaders need more awareness on the ways CSP could fit into long-term power sector plans and grid integration approaches, as well as about the optimal generation procurement processes and the availability of concessional financing. CSP also has the potential to promote local skills development and local manufacturing for CSP components.