Doors open, Registration, Welcome coffee

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony will set the stage for insightful discussions on the rapidly growing PV market in Saudi Arabia.

Speakers: Eckhart K. Gouras, Managing Director, pv magazine | Moneef Barakat, CEO, Solarabic

Presentation: Jinko Solar

Speaker: Mustafa Al-Jayyousi, Sr. Sales Manager, Jinko Solar

Jinko Solar Reliability

Presentation: GCC - Gulf Renewable Energy Lab

Speaker: Kamalakannan Jayachandran, Renewable Energy Engineer, GCC Lab

Importance and impact of PV Testing

Panel discussion 1 | Market perspectives and opportunities in the Saudi PV market

In this session, experts and analysts from local and international companies will discuss the perspectives of this segment and the challenges that must still be addressed to further reduce prices and foster innovation.

Talking points:

• LCOE of large-scale and small-scale PV in SA
• PV and storage in the SA energy market
• Direct and indirect incentives
• Future policies
• Renewable energy targets
• PV for energy exports

Speakers: Nahidh El-Shaer, Country Director, SirajPower | Majid Refae, Chairman, Saudi Polytechnic Institute of Renewable Energy | Marcus H. Schrauf, CEO, FAS Energy | Dr. Hussain Bassi, Senior Consultant Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)

Moderators:  Essam Al-Ammar, Professor of Electrical Energy, King Saud University

Lunch and Prayer time

Presentation: Saudi Polytechnic Institute of Renewable Energy

Speaker: Majid Refae, Chairman, Saudi Polytechnic Institute of Renewable Energy

SPIRE: Saudi Polytechnic Institute for Renewable Energy

Panel discussion 2 | Solar techs for the desert

In this session, we will discuss with industry experts and representatives of manufacturers the importance of choosing highly reliable products when operating in the Saudi market, as well as how to better procure these products.

Talking points:

• Potential new factories in SA
• Local content requirements
• Next-generation product (tandem perovskite-silicon)
• Competition of mainstream technologies PERC, TOPCon, xBC, HTJ
• Localizing inverter production
• Testing and certification

Speakers: Abdullah Zalam, Manager – PV Technology, ACWA Power | Leon Chuang, Global Marketing Director, Risen Energy | Theo Xin, Head of Product&Technology MENA, Trina Solar | Yasser Zaidan, Sr. Sales Manager - Middle East, Jinko Solar

Moderators: Emiliano Bellini, News Director, pv magazine | Dr. Amin Al Yaquob, Managing Partner, Al Yaquob Advisory

Coffee Break and Prayer time

Panel discussion 3 | PV plant development and construction in Saudi Arabia, EPC innovations and beyond

In this session, representatives of EPC companies, project developers, and investment firms will discuss the best construction practices, as well as the challenges in building solar plants in demanding environmental conditions.

Talking points:

• Land acquisition, lease
• Central vs string inverters in large scale PV
• Grid connection issues
• Environmental factors
• Cleaning operations

Speakers: Saeed Baalhaddad, General Manager & Commercial Director, Gulf Renewable Energy Lab | Joseph Sadaka, General Manager, Safeer | Rami Hamati, Project Development Manager, EMERGE | Omar Attyat, Regional Sales Manager, LONGi | Saif Bdeir, Managing Director, Haala Energy

Moderators: Moneef Barakat, CEO, Solarabic

Panel discussion 4 | Linking to storage, hydrogen, CSP

In this session, we will seek to ascertain if the Saudi market can be home to ambitious green hydrogen project or innovative hybrid storage configurations. We will also discuss if the CSP (concentrated solar power) technology has the potential to challenge the primacy of PV or if it may be used in complementarity.

Talking points:

•  Competition between green and grey/blue hydrogen
• Costs of hydrogen
• Revival of CPS and competition or complementarity with PV
• Large-scale and small-scale batteries; feasibility, prices, and technology
• Neom 
• Hybridizing PV with HVAC

Speakers: Dr. Mengyuan Li, Vice President, Product Management Center, LONGi | Waleed AlHallaj, Head of Business Development - MENA, Amarenco | Dr. Raed Bkayrat, Chief Development Officer, Alternative Energy Projects | Mustafa Ahmed Al-Hakeem, Project Manager

Moderators: Emiliano Bellini, News Director, pv magazine | Krzysztof Ignaciuk, Partner, Partner, Head of MENA, Apricum – The Cleantech Advisory

Conference key takeaways

Speakers: Moneef Barakat, CEO, Solarabic | Emiliano Bellini, News Director, pv magazine