Opening Speech with MENA PV Market Outlook

Monday, April 07, 2025

Time
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Hall
Dubai World Trade Centre
Room
Conference Area

Solar installations are on the rise. The deployment is expected to continue over the next four years, reaching 617 GW in 2027. The energy transition towards renewables is well under way in the Middle East and North Africa. The region has advanced and ambitious energy investment and diversification plans in place, driven by the need to meet growing energy demand, promote economic growth, maximize socioeconomic benefits and meet decarbonisation objectives. Analysis for IRENA's World Energy Transitions Outlook (WETO) reveals that the region could obtain almost 26% of its total primary energy supply from renewables by 2050, while the renewable share could reach 53% in the power sector.

10:30 am - 11:00 amOpening Speech with MENA PV Market Outlook

Dr. Florian Wessendorf

Managing Director

Solar Promotion International GmbH

Sohan Gwalani

Research Analyst, MEA Renewables

Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

Denisa Fainis

Senior Account Manager

Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd

Speakers
Speaker
Sohan Gwalani, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

Research Analyst, MEA Renewables

UK

Sohan is a research analyst on Wood Mackenzie's Power and Renewables team and leads the coverage of solar PV and onshore wind markets in Africa and the Middle East. He forecasts renewable installations in the region and provides insights on the latest policy and regulatory developments. He is currently based in London. Sohan has previously been a member of Wood Mackenzie's European long-term power team, where his primary focus was on power purchase agreement (PPA) and guarantee of origin (GoO) trends. Earlier in his career, Sohan lived in Nigeria, where he gained experience collaborating with a local power solutions provider on a project to install off-grid residential PV systems in rural areas of the country. Sohan graduated from Imperial College London with a first-class master's degree in Chemical Engineering.

Speaker
Denisa Fainis, Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd

Senior Account Manager

UAE

Denisa Fainis is a Senior Account Manager at Huawei Digital Power, specializing in the solar PV utility-scale sector in Dubai. She also serves as the Secretary General of the Middle East Solar Industry Association. Her role at Huawei involves managing key accounts for utility-scale solar PV developers, fostering stakeholder relationships, analyzing market trends, understanding local regulations, assessing lender interest for specific projects and regions, and performing due diligence. With over 18 years of international experience, Denisa has a diverse background in business development across sectors such as military contracting, diesel power generation, and solar energy.

Speaker
Dr. Florian Wessendorf, Solar Promotion International GmbH

Managing Director

Germany

Dr. Florian Wessendorf is Managing Director of Solar Promotion GmbH and Solar Promotion International GmbH. He is responsible for the global conference program and exhibitions in North America, South America and India. He has deep expertise in the solar industry, and formerly served as Managing Director of Photovoltaic Equipment at VDMA, where he was responsible for strategic development, market research and technology scouting, advocacy and policy advice, events, PR and marketing.

Further Content
Exhibition and Conference
Registration

Register now for the Intersolar and ees Middle East.

Speaker
Jens Heinrich, CTF Solar GmbH

Director Technology Development

Germany

PhD in physical chemistry at Technical University Chemnitz - Chemical vapor deposition and insitu process analytic. Experience in high end semiconductor manufacturing processes at Advanced Microelectronic Devices, Globalfoundries and Intel in Germany, Ireland and USA. Since 2016 worked for Research and technology company CTF Solar GmbH in Dresden Germany in the technology development for CdTe thin film PV module manufacturing equipment and processes. Up to now 37 patents and multiple scientific publications.

Speaker
Dr. Puzant Baliozian, VDMA - Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Association

Lead Consultant of Sector Group Photovoltaic Equipment

Germany

Dr. Puzant Baliozian is the VDMA PV Equipment Group's project manager since September of this year. He is involved in techno-economic studies for manufacturing capacity of PV along the value chain and represents the interests of European PV equipment manufacturers internationally. The PV Sector Group at VDMA also publishes the yearly international technology roadmap for photovoltaics (ITRPV) showing highly relevant technology projections and trends. Dr. Baliozian studied physics at the American University of Beirut (BSc., 2014) and has a specialization in renewable energy (MSc. 2016) from the university of Freiburg. From 2016 until recently, he worked at Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg in the field of photovoltaic production technologies where he also did his PhD. He is best known for developing the passivated edge technology for separated industrial solar cell concepts, to boost cell and module efficiencies.

Speaker
Eren Engür, Malta Inc

VP-MEA

US

Solar & Energy Storage Executive with 20+ years of Global experience. Extensive functional knowledge with accomplished marketing, financial, business development and technology skills. I'm a seasoned professional with extensive functional knowledge with accomplished marketing, financial, business development and technology skills with a keen understanding of RE market design/fundamentals and business models, and strong in-market commercial and transactional experience who lived in 3 continents.

Speaker
Dr. Nabih Cherradi, Desert Technologies

Chief Technology Officer

Saudi Arabia

Dr. Nabih Cherradi is Desert Technologies' Chief Technology Officer. Has spent over 34 years building on a long track record of equipment's/production lines as well as business development in the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries. Prior to joining Desert Technologies, Nabih is also the CEO of EmpowerSun, a Swiss based photovoltaic energy consultancy, which he founded in 2009. In the meantime, he also co-founded ISWT a French solar developer company. From 2007-2009, as a Vice President/CTO, he accompanied Yingli Green Energy in its fast expansion with responsibility for the technology and manufacturing. He also participated in its IPO in New York (NYSE). As operations & process director at Applied Materials from 1997 to 2007 Nabih was responsible for installing turn-key semiconductor and photovoltaic production lines throughout the world, installing multiple GWs of production capacity across a ten year period. As a scientist, he focused on advance materials for different applications working with different industries (Semiconductor, Photovoltaic and Hard tools) He holds a PhD on materials sciences from the University Henri Poincaré, Nancy as well as an MBA, from the Business School of Nancy, (France).

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