PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGIONS: POLICY AND REGULATORY IMPLICATIONS

It is estimated that within the next 40 years, solar thermal power plants would be capable of supplying more than half of the electricity needs of EUMENA. While solar irradiance differs widely in Europe due to seasonal variations, in the MENA region, there is abundant and continuous solar irradiance. This make the MENA region suitable for establishing CSP plants and exporting the electricity generated to Europe. This has driven many institutions and agencies, including the World Bank and the Desertec Foundation, to propose various schemes to promote the use of CSP systems in the MENA region. The objective of this paper is to examine the existing policy and regulatory frameworks in the MENA countries, identify any barriers and make recommendations on how to surmount these barriers, to increase the scale and scope of utilizing CSPs and other renewable energy technologies (RETs) in the region. The paper concludes by making a number of policy and regulatory recommendations to support utilization of solar thermal energy resource within the MENA region.