Local Module Production to Improve Solar PV's Bankability

• Manz AG makes compelling case for local production of PV modules at ongoing MENASOL event

As over 300 of the solar industry’s major players, including regional policymakers, flock to the ongoing MENASOL 2015, key participants are piecing together a roadmap to navigate the 500MW Middle East and North Africa (MENA) solar industry. German engineering firm Manz AG, which recently recorded a highly competitive efficiency grade of 16% for its CIGS thin-film modules, reaffirmed the technology as best-positioned to achieve the region’s solar targets, and elaborated on how local production of photovoltaic (PV) modules can slash the CAPEX of the region’s PV plants, noting that when compared to competitors, Manz CIGSfab provides up to 20% better levelised cost of energy (LCoE).

“Initially, the only real limiting factor for thin-film solar technology was its efficiency grade when compared to crystalline solar technology, but recent advancements in manufacturing processes are translating lab efficiencies into mass production quite successfully. Couple that with the cost advantage of local module production we are highlighting at this year’s MENASOL, and you have a clear winner,” said Mohamed Alammawi, Manz’s vice president of sales for the MENA region.

Further validation for the local production of PV components has come in the form of many of the region’s governments incentivising local procurement. For instance, in Turkey, the feed-in tariff for PV stands at USD cents 13.3 per kWh, but local involvement can increase the tariff by USD cents 6.7 per kWh, to USD cents 20 per kWh.

“It makes sense to encourage the local production of modules and know-how transfer as it increases self-sufficiency, creates a larger job pool and, most significantly, opens doors for further research,” commented Alammawi.

While no such incentives exist in the UAE yet, green energy companies have been rallying for local authorities to implement a feed-in tariff to accelerate Dubai’s march towards its recently upgraded renewable energy targets of 7% by 2020 and 15% by 2030.