Global solar-tech leaders gathering in Riyadh to facilitate Saudi Arabia's National Energy Plan

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia very recently announced plans to generate 40 GW of electricity through solar energy by 2032. As per the Kingdom's National Energy Plan, the King Abdulaziz City for Atomic and Renewable Energy expects concentrated solar power technologies to amount to 25 GW. It may appear to be too ambitious a plan, but the Kingdom is serious about harvesting solar energy: the first tender for a 2,000 MW power plant is expected to be announced in early 2013 followed very shortly by a second tender for a 2,500 MW plant in 2014.

Given the dismal state of the almost saturated solar markets, Saudi Arabia's growing interest in the solar industry is seen by many as a boost to the international market. The country's solar power plants dreams are in focus at naseba's 2nd Annual Solar Arabia Summit in Riyadh, which is providing a perfect backdrop for key policy-makers, government officials, investors and business conglomerates to capitalise on the Kingdom's investment of US$109 billion in the sector.

In addition to the 40 global leaders in solar industry who have confirmed their participation on September 16th and 17th, 150 C-level solar energy executives are attending the summit. The 2nd Annual Solar Arabia Summit will comprise of an exhibition, networking sessions and panel discussions including keynote presentations delivered by HE Dr Abdullah Mohammed Al Shehri, Governor, Electricity and Co-Generation Regulatory Authority, Saudi Arabia; and Gerhard Stryi-Hipp, Head of Energy Policy and Coordinator Smart Energy Cities, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy.

"Up until now, Europe (and particularly Germany) was leading the PV market. However, USA, Japan, India and especially China are growing markets while Europe is stagnating. Due to recent announcements from the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, we expect this region will also become an important player in the solar sector very soon" said Stryi-Hipp.

HE Dr Osama Fadl Al-Bar, Mayor, Holy City of Makkah has also confirmed his attendance and will be speaking on the 100 MW Makkah Municipality project and the scope for growth of solar energy in the region.

Nicholas Watson, Managing Director, naseba remarked: ""Amid reports suggesting that Saudi Arabia could exhaust their export oil supply by 2030, the Kingdom is obviously taking the wise approach to diversifying its energy sources to sustain economic growth. This summit is an excellent and well-timed platform for international solar developers and manufacturers who want to engage with key stakeholders in the country."