Middle East's Renewable Energy Plans

 

Recent reports from the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia detailing their respective national energy plans are attracting the attention of leading international renewable energy solution and service providers. While there has been much talk of the region's desire to diversify, some have been skeptical whether these plans would be realized. However initial Q1 announcements have been extremely promising, indicating the MENA region's PV sector alone could rise to 3.5 GW annually by 2015.

One of the leaders in this field is the Mubadala-owned entity, Masdar. Masdar City is UAE's flagship project, which Masdar and the UAE Government believe showcases the true potential of renewable energy by being the world's first 100% clean energy city.

Toufic Mezher, Professor of Engineering Systems and Management at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) confirmed, "Masdar will soon be announcing the commissioning of the largest solar CSP power plant, located in Abu Dhabi, the 100 MW Shams 1 project."

Mezher is also speaking about best case practices in renewable energy policies at the 4th Annual Qatar Alternative Energy Investors Summit, taking place in Doha on March 24th and 25th.

"This summit will address the major critical challenges facing the GCC region in the future. New investments in infrastructures, especially in the energy and water sectors are needed to meet the economic and population growth of each country," he added.

First Solar, one of the world's largest fully integrated PV solution providers is also participating at the summit, as they are looking to expand their business in the MENA region. They have also secured the project to build a 13 MW solar power plant for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, DEWA's Managing Director and CEO, explained, "The PV plant installation is a key step in the implementation of the energy diversification strategy adopted by the Supreme Council of Energy, in which solar energy is set to become part of Dubai's energy portfolio. The strategy is based on Dubai's growing energy requirements and aims to maintain security of supply in the Emirate of Dubai."

First Solar's Vice President of Business Development and Sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Christopher Burghardt gave his reasons for attending the summit: "It's an exciting platform to demonstrate our capabilities and build lasting relationships in a region that is starting to embrace the full potential of clean energy. Attending allows new and existing business partners to see first-hand our strengths right across the PV value chain."
 

Organized by French business information group Naseba, supported by Kahramaa and opened by their President, His Excellency Engineer Essa Bin Hilal Al Kuwari, the summit is bringing together 150 regional decision makers to meet global leaders in renewable energy.

In an earlier statement, His Excellency Essa Bin Hilal Al Kuwari, confirmed, "Kahramaa has also started developing a 150 to 200 MW generation capacity project from solar power by utilizing the unused areas in its electricity grid stations and water reservoir stations."

MPPT vs PWM Solar Charge Controllers

A solar charge controller is needed in virtually all solar power systems that utilize batteries. The job of the solar charge controller is to regulate the power going from the solar panels to the batteries. Overcharging batteries will at the least significantly reduce battery life and at worst damage the batteries to the point that they are unusable. The most basic charge controller simply monitors the battery voltage and opens the circuit, stopping the charging, when the battery voltage rises to a certain level. Older charge controllers used a mechanical relay to open or close the circuit, stopping or starting power going to the batteries. 

More modern charge controllers use Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to slowly lower the amount of power applied to the batteries as the batteries get closer and closer to fully charged. This type of controller allows the batteries to be more fully charged with less stress on the battery, extending battery life. It can also keep batteries in a fully charged state (called “float”) indefinitely. PWM is more complex, but does not have any mechanical connections to break.

  

The most recent and best type of solar charge controller is called Maximum Power Point Tracking or MPPT. MPPT controllers are basically able to convert excess voltage into amperage. This has advantages in a couple of different areas.

 

Most solar power systems use 12 volt batteries, like you find in cars. (Some use other voltages and the same advantages apply to these systems as well.) Solar panels can deliver far more voltage than is required to charge the batteries. By, in essence, converting the excess voltage into amps, the charge voltage can be kept at an optimal level while the time required to fully charge the batteries is reduced. This allows the solar power system to operate optimally at all times.

Another area that is enhanced by an MPPT charge controller is power loss. Lower voltage in the wires running from the solar panels to the charge controller results in higher energy loss in the wires than higher voltage. With a PWM charge controller used with 12V batteries, the voltage from the solar panel to the charge controller typically has to be 18V. Using an MPPT controller allows much higher voltages in the wires from the panels to the solar charge controller. The MPPT controller then converts the excess voltage into additional amps. By running higher voltage in the wires from the solar panels to the charge controller, power loss in the wires is reduced significantly.

MPPT charge controllers are more expensive that PWM charge controllers, but the advantages are worth the cost. If you can afford it, you should definitely use an MPPT charge controller.

The final function of modern solar charge controllers is preventing reverse-current flow. At night, when solar panels are not generating electricity, electricity can actually flow backwards from the batteries through the solar panels, draining the batteries. You’ve worked hard all day using solar power to charge the batteries, you don’t want to waste all that power! The charge controller can detect when no energy is coming from the solar panels and open the circuit, disconnecting the solar panels from the batteries and stopping reverse current flow.

For pros and cons of each type of charge controllers click here!