First Solar, Abengoa see opportunities in Middle East, N Africa

Jan 22, 2013 - There are opportunities for development of solar power projects in the Middle East and North Africa, executives from US solar module maker First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Spanish renewables and engineering group Abengoa (MCE:ABG) told Bloomberg in interviews last week.

The market for photovoltaic (PV) products in the region looks very robust in the long term as a result of power producers' desire to reduce their dependence on the use of oil and natural gas in electricity generation by adopting alternative energy sources, First Solar's chief technology officer Raffi Garabedian said in an interview.

Meanwhile, according to Abengoa Solar's chief executive Santiago Seage, the region is suitable for the development of the company's concentrated solar power (CSP) systems because of the availability of gas needed to turn the facilities' turbines. Seage noted the 100-MW Shams 1 facility it co-developed in Abu Dhabi with local renewable energy firm Masdar was completing testing, with inauguration scheduled for the current quarter and full capacity expected to be reached by the summer.

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