Frankfurt-based MENA Cleantech GmbH plans to use European and US technology to build plants in North Africa and the Middle East.
The African region should agree to the construction of solar thermal projects because power is needed to operate plants to desalinate seawater for drinking and irrigation in parched lands, founder of MENA Cleantech Samer Zureikat said.
Investors eye North Africa as solar power potential is abundant, but stability lacks, noted African Development Bank in Tunis analyst Youssef Arfaoui. Banks need assurance of their investments, with only Tunisia holding an investment-grade credit rating for foreign currency borrowing from credit rating agency Standard & Poor.
Solar companies have announced plans to build 8.9 gigawatts of solar-thermal power worldwide, at a cost of $35 billion, according to New Energy Finance.
“It’s not about what Europe needs, it’s what the Middle East and