The latest World Future Energy Summit (WFES), held last week in Abu Dhabi, UAE, highlighted the central role of solar, renewables, and energy storage across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), even as most countries in the region continue to invest heavily in oil and gas.
Although the trade show did not grow in size this year, it attracted broader participation across the supply chain, with dedicated areas for manufacturers and service providers from India, China, Germany, Switzerland, and Turkey, among others.
“WFES is different from anything else in this region. It’s where the decision-makers really come. When you go to the biggest suppliers, you see chairman-level participation,” Solarabic CEO Waleed AlHallaj told pv magazine. “This is not just about the UAE or Saudi Arabia. It’s about the entire MENA region. We’re seeing emerging markets such as Syria, Libya, and Yemen. WFES is becoming increasingly international and technology-oriented.”
According to AlHallaj, the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment is growing across the Middle East, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, driven by increased adoption of battery energy storage systems (BESS). “We face major challenges with electricity access in parts of the region,” he said. “In other areas, the grid is so saturated, with high shares of renewables, that energy storage is the only solution.”
He identified Iraq, Yemen, and Libya as the region’s most promising emerging markets, citing ongoing grid stability challenges and strong growth potential. Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt are also expected to see expansion in the agricultural sector, where solar-plus-storage solutions are gaining traction. “I’ve heard that Morocco installed more than 1 GW in the agricultural sector alone last year,” AlHallaj said.
Saudi Arabia is also becoming increasingly attractive, particularly due to opportunities to match rising electricity demand from data centers with renewable generation and storage. “The next emerging market here is power supply for AI data center (AIDC) facilities,” said Hong Soo Goh, grid technology director at Sungrow. “They require immense power for large language model training and AI inference, which creates significant opportunities.”
“This new segment also supports the development of battery energy storage in the region,” he added. “Batteries are the only systems fast enough to meet the aggressive timelines of AIDC data centers. PV can be combined with BESS to create reliable power supplies capable of supporting 24/7 compute loads.”
Sungrow identified Kuwait and Iraq as particularly interesting markets for its storage business, while also including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan within a broader macro-regional strategy.
Rystad Energy analyst Nishant Kumar said WFES allows visitors and exhibitors to better understand the region’s fragmented value chain and competitive dynamics. “In this region, we see a clear top-down vision, from ministries to key developers such as Masdar, as well as other players pushing climate goals and renewable targets,” he told pv magazine. “The ecosystem represented at this event is clearly supporting that trajectory.”
Kumar identified battery storage and operations and maintenance (O&M) as the most promising segments in the MENA market. “Ensuring reliability of power delivery and the integrity of facilities will be critical,” he said. “New segments emerge only once the market reaches a certain level of confidence, and that is one of the most encouraging signals from this event.”
The Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) attended the event with 27 member companies. “This is a testament to how important WFES has become for the solar sector,” said MESIA Executive Director Hinde Liepmannsohn. “We are seeing emerging markets such as Libya, Yemen, and Iraq becoming more interesting in terms of potential volumes. Political stability remains a challenge, but our members are increasingly exploring investment opportunities and local events in these countries.”
The number of PV component suppliers at WFES increased significantly this year, according to Fazle Moyeen Quazi, global head of technical services at Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power. “We see a growing range of suppliers, which is very helpful for developers like ACWA Power,” he told pv magazine. “We meet not only technology OEMs, but also second- and third-tier suppliers, EPC contractors, developers, ministers, and regulators. It’s a truly global platform.”
Quazi identified energy storage and artificial intelligence as the main emerging trends in the region. “Clipping losses and curtailment are pushing more PV plant operators to deploy storage,” he said. “Storage performs well in peak shaving and significantly enhances system resilience and stability. Battery response at primary, secondary, and tertiary control levels is impressive. We are also seeing early momentum in green hydrogen.”
Overall, WFES 2026 confirmed the rising strategic role of solar and energy storage across MENA, with batteries underpinning grid stability, C&I projects, agriculture, and data center growth. The expanding supplier base points to increasing market maturity and faster uptake of solar-plus-storage across both established and emerging regional markets.
Source – PV Magazine