Unlocking the growing clean energy investment opportunities of the Middle East and Africa – two of the world’s most promising renewable energy markets – will be a key focus during the 2015 World Future Energy Summit (WFES), which takes place January 19-22, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. 

• Saudi Arabia has committed $US109 billion to the development of 41GW of solar energy as part of a broader plan to deploy 54 GW of clean energy by 2032;
• In Morocco, a US$9 billion solar-power project, accounting for 38 per cent of country’s installed power generation by 2020, is currently under way. It has targeted 42 per cent of domestic energy supply from renewables by 2020;
• Jordan has targeted 10 per cent of power from renewable sources and expects to invest up to $US2.1 billion by 2020;
• The Egyptian government will invest $US1billion in solar energy as it looks to increase the country’s share of renewables to 20 per cent by 2020
• Renewable energy investments in sub-Saharan Africa – particularly in South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia – are expected to grow to more than US$7 billion by 2016. 

• The rise of shale gas and its impact on the adoption of renewable energy
• The role of cities in combating climate change
• Risks and opportunities of developing and operating utility-scale solar plants and wind farms
• The opportunity of energy efficiency
• The ‘Internet of Things’ and future smart grid solutions
• Maximizing value from operational solar PV and CSP projects
• Mitigating financial risk in project development.