Inspiring a new generation of leaders and leveraging the enormous opportunity for job creation within the solar industry will be a major part of the Dubai leg of the Intersolar World Series, when the event makes its debut in the region later this year.
Held under the patronage of His Excellency, Suhail Al Mazrouie, UAE Minster of Energy, Intersolar Middle East will include a range of education workshops and features aimed at providing key insights into global best practices among current and future sector leaders.
“With the scale of solar energy projects in the pipeline, the GCC region can continue to be a global energy leader. The solar industry also can drive local economic growth and job creation. As that happens, the need for qualified and experienced professionals will be immense,” said Dr. Rabia Ferroukhi, Deputy Director of Knowledge, Policy and Finance, International Renewable Energy Agency.
Last year, the solar industry was expected to create 1,000 new jobs in two years, but that figure could increase further as governments seek to step up efforts to diversify economic activity and capitalise on record low solar energy costs, and as oil prices remain volatile.
Education workshop are to be delivered by experts in fields of system design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance, with a particular on how emerging trends are creating synergies across national development agenda, higher education, and demand for skills.
“Solar PV projects becoming profitable proposition, countries across MENA have been incentivized to launch an increasing number of PV programs to support a booming electricity demand. The growth of utility scale solar projects in the MENA region has helped the continued development of innovative technologies and services that are further driving down the cost of solar systems, offering the rapidly growing regions of the Middle East and North Africa a valuable and economically viable energy alternative to conventional fossil fuels. Most GCC countries have committed billions of dollars in new clean energy projects over the last four years, which has attracted outside parties to bring new ideas, technologies and investment into the region” Dr. Toufic
Over US$3.5 billion already spent on regional solar projects in 2015, with blueprints including UAE Vision 2021, Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, and Oman 2020, and others all underway.
More than 200 world leaders, including energy ministers from UAE, Jordan, and Egypt set to attend the Global Solar Leaders’ Summit during Intersolar Middle East. Leaders will be joined by thousands of companies showcasing latest innovations in solar technology, with thousands of visitors from around the world also due to attend the three-day exhibition.
Intersolar Middle East will be held in Dubai between 19-21 September 2016.