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First Solar becomes Dii investor

Dubai, March 11, 2013

First Solar, a leader in utility-scale PV solar power systems, has become a shareholder in Dii, a private industrial consortium working towards enabling the vision of 'sustainable energy supply from the deserts' in Europe and the Mena region.

The company was previously a associated partner of Dii, which has its headquarters in Munich, Germany. It also has branches in Morocco and Tunisia.

“Our extended dedication to Dii as a shareholder emphasises First Solar’s commitment to the Mena region, where we see tremendous potential to build a sustainable market for solar power. Dii is the ideal industrial initiative to bring power from the deserts into reality,” remarked Christopher Burghardt, First Solar’s VP of Business Development for Europe and MEA.

First Solar recently established an office in Dubai and is in an advanced stage of opening an office in Saudi Arabia.

The company is pursuing a wide range of opportunities to support the region’s efforts to cultivate its considerable solar resources. It is constructing a 13 megawatt (MW) solar PV power plant for Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) in Seih Al Dahal, 50km south of Dubai.

This is the first phase of the landmark Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, a Dh12 billion ($3.2 billion) project that is expected to eventually cover 48 sq km and produce 1,000MW of clean energy for the UAE’s national grid using both PV and solar thermal technology.

The company also constructed a 5 MW solar PV system for the Masdar Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and donated a complete 3.2 kWp PV system to the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) New Energy Oasis program in Saudi Arabia.

Paul van Son, the CEO of Dii said, "I am very proud that First Solar decided to increase its commitment to our initiative. With the largest solar project pipeline of nearly 3 gigawatt contracted worldwide, First Solar has an extraordinary know how for the implementation of the Desertec vision in the region."

"This fits very well with the rapidly increasing interest of countries in Mena to expand renewable energy capacity and grid infrastructure connecting the emerging Mena market to Europe," he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: investor | First Solar |

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