The Intersolar Middle East Conference 2019 started with two powerhouses of the solar industry: While Yousif Al Ali, Director, Business Growth, from Masdar explained the renewable energy dominance of the UAE in the GCC region; Paddy Padmanathan, CEO and President of ACWA Power International, was very optimistic that Saudi Arabia’s official goal of 40GW planned capacity in solar PV by 2030 will be reached much earlier.
In five conference sessions more than 300 attendees listened to 25 expert speakers on PV Powerplants, energy storage systems and digitalization.“In MENA, vast renewable energy expansion is the key driver for energy storage. The MENA total solar PV demand (2018–2022) is expected to reach 37.6 GW”, explained Florian Mayr, Partner and Head of Energy Storage of Apricum. „An increasing number of energy storage installations already exist in different stages of implementation.”
“Data is the differentiator. Businesses with the ability to capture more of it, make sense of it and appropriately use it will be a step ahead”, Anup Isaac shared how Yellow Door Energy uses data to scale C&I solar in the Middle East and beyond. With his co-panelists Dr. Mustapha Taoumi, EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network and Benjamin Attia, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, Anup Isaac enjoyed the in-depth discussion as well as the very engaged participation from the audience.Intersolar Middle East has been taking place in various formats and locations in the United Arab Emirates since 2013.
In 2019, for the first time as open access conference within Middle East Electricity, the oldest and largest energy exhibition in the region. The intention of this new format was to make latest trends in solar, energy storage and digitalization accessible to a larger crowd without losing any in depth information. The region knows plenty of events that happen behind closed doors and discuss the same topics. The Intersolar Middle East Conference deliberately stands out from those meetings.
“The concept was a resounding success,” said Dr. Florian Wessendorf, managing director of Solar Promotion International GmbH. “All five sessions were attended by more than 130 participants each. Even the afternoon sessions were of high interest until the very end. The audience had many meaningful questions. Everybody could literally feel the positive spirit of this unique conference audience. That was different than in others formats, but it didn’t know any less.
“The next Intersolar Middle East Conference will take place in March 3-5, 2020, as open access conference within Middle East Electricity, the oldest and largest energy exhibition in the region. Amongst traditional energy topics of the exhibition, MEE has a growing solar sector in the exhibition and offers an ideal surrounding for the Intersolar conference. More Information: www.intersolar.ae