Summer 2016 June has been another exciting month for the clean energy sector in MENA. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority announced Masdar-led consortium comprising Spanish firms, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and Gransolar Group won the contract for the 800 MW phase for the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park. Saudi Arabia's state electricity utility announced a tender to build two solar-power plants in Al-Jouf and Rafha in the kingdom's northern region which will generate as much as 50MW using PV technology. Dubai Municipality is constructing one of the largest waste-to-energy plants in the Middle East, a Dh2 billion facility to convert solid waste into energy in Warsan district

An East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, or EACREEE, has been launched at Makerere University in Uganda to address energy issues faced by the five East African Community nations of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. It joins the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres, coordinated by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization or UNIDO. “The centres respond to the urgent need for increased regional cooperation and capacities to mitigate existing barriers to renewable energy and energy efficiency investment, markets and industries,” UNIDO says. EACREEE has been created by the East African Community or EAC states with support from th

A SUMMARY FROM A RECENT CONFERENCE ON SMART CITIES Transformative, global forces that define the future world with their far reaching impact on business, societies and people Key Megatrends: FinTech taking a huge leap - crypto currencies Robots Sensory devices Fully automated cars 3D and 4D printing High speed rail services Retail: Digital experiences in the brick and mortar showroom INTRODUCTION VALUE for MANY vs VALUE for MONEY SMART Energy Citizens Infrastructure Mobility Biggest challenge facing humanity - MEGA VISION TREND 1 - CONNECTIVITY & CONVERGENCE 5 billion internet users by 2020 5 connected devices for every user by 2020 Over 80 billion connected devices in 2020 5G - Bandwidth in