Ammon News - Abu Dhabi - Officials and experts from the Gulf and other countries will meet in Doha early next month to discuss several important issues, including renewable energy, amidst a reported decline in investment in the renewable energy sector in the Arab region.

Although there was a surge of 17 per cent in such investments worldwide, they receded in most Arab countries except the UAE and Morocco, in 2011 mainly because of the political turmoil that swept some regional nations.

According to a study by the Saudi-based Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (Apicorp), an affiliate of the 10-nation Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), global new investment in renewable power and fuels
(solar, wind, modern biomass, waste-to-energy, biofuels, small hydro, geothermal and marine) increased by 17 per cent to reach an all-time high of $257 billion in 2011.

This was more than six times the amount achieved in 2004 and nearly the double of 2007 – the year preceding the global financial crisis.

As a matter of fact, actual investment in renewable energy amounts to $325 billion when adding $68 billion worth of merger and acquisition transactions in 2011, Apicorp said.

It noted that the regional pattern of investment appears markedly uneven, with two thirds of investment originated in developed economies and one third in the developing ones. It said that despite a decline of such investments in Germany – the world’s third biggest market after China and the US – Europe remained by far the most important investment area. It was followed by China and the US, with the latter closing in on the former.

“The lowest level of investment is found in MENA… this poor performance has more to do with policy uncertainty than it does with business motivations,” the report said.

“Despite some tentative advances in the region, progress has generally been disappointing. According to the report, total renewable energy investment in the Middle East and Africa reached $5.5 billion in 2011, representing 2.1 per cent of the world total. This poor performance was made even worse by a fall in investment of 18 per cent compared with 2010.”

According to Apicorp, policy uncertainty created by socio-political turmoil in parts of the region has delayed a number of projects.

But it added that important initiatives did progress in countries spared by the turbulence such as in Morocco and the UAE, where investment reached $1.1 billion and $0.8 billion, respectively.

In other countries, where policy makers have announced ambitious goals, investment has so far been too small to appear in global statistics, it said.

Energy projects worth nearly $250 billion will be discussed at the 11th Power-Gen Middle East conference which will be held in Doha, Qatar from February 4-6, 2013.

Organizers said nearly 200 power projects are on the agenda of the Power-Gen Middle East, conference which will also discuss new technologies and other power-related issues.

“Significant energy-related projects as part of the 200 planned and announced ventures valued between $100 million and $20 billion will be major points of discussion at Power-Gen Middle East in Doha,” said PennWell Corporation, which is organizing the event.

“A total of $250 billion is expected to be pumped into the power sector in the MENA region over the next five years to meet regional electricity demand growth.”

It is with utmost honour and privilege that POWER-GEN Middle East is graced with the esteemed patronage and support of His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry.

Renowned for being one of the most important events of its kind in the region. POWER-GEN Middle East will explore new venture investments, intellectual property, enhanced technology solutions, management skills and innovative new products. The event will be held at the award-winning Qatar National Convention Centre, Doha along with co-located WaterWorld Middle East.

More than 100 distinguished delegates from over 20 countries will speak about a variety of issues, including the challenges and opportunities for power project development, maximizing today’s grid potential and tomorrow’s alternatives, renewable energy technologies and integration and operation and maintenance.

the event taking place in Doha, Qatar from 4-6 February 2013 at Qatar National Convention Centre.