The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that renewables will overtake coal as the largest source of electricity generation by 2025, supplying one third of the world’s electricity. Solar systems can reduce a building’s reliance on grid-supplied electricity by as much as 80% and in many cases reduce electric bills by up to 95%, according to a recent CBRE Viewpoint.
With the steady decline in the cost of solar panels, solar energy is now a viable alternative to conventional energy generation for real estate, be it industrial estates, shopping malls or residential projects. The consistent and high concentration of solar radiation in the Middle East makes for a perfect fit with many new real estate projects, Savills report.
The regulatory framework in the Gulf States is evolving to facilitate the adoption of solar energy systems although there a number of legal obstacles developers and early adopters of this technology need to be aware of at the outset, when planning the implementation of renewable energy in a real estate or hospitality project.
