The Oath Publishes Akin Gump Article on Middle East Energy Storage Developments

The Oath has published the article “The new frontier for Middle East energy,” written by Akin Gump cross-border transactions partner Chadi Salloum, who serves as co-partner in charge of the firm’s Abu Dhabi office and overseas its Middle East practice, and global project finance partner Julian Nichol. The article offers insight into the latest developments in energy storage deployment to cope with the rise of renewable energy projects in the region.

Salloum and Nichol write that utilities are trying to address “the intermittency of renewable energy supply with viable energy storage solutions.” One way to do this, they say, is with batteries, which have seen increasing interest “driven by battery technology advancement and a reduction in battery prices over recent years.”

The article notes that the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) was a pioneer in the Middle East in exploring large scale uses and deployment of battery storage systems. In addition, earlier this year, the DoE said it was planning to add more solar capacity to the generation mix, allowing for the potential “to add more energy storage capacity either on a stand-alone basis or as an integral part of a solar project.”

The authors write that there is, “a lot of exciting development and potential for energy storage deployment in the Middle East,” which is expected to intensify “alongside the ramp up of renewable energy deployment in the region.” They then detail some energy storage “use cases” as well as ways to integrate solar PV and energy storage—so-called “S2” projects.

To read the full article, please click here.