PVH Middle East was honored to host the PVH Summit, a prestigious event held at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jeddah, and organized in collaboration with Citi. The summit, titled “The Clean Energy Transition: KSA 2030 Challenges and Vision”, brought together some of the most influential figures in the solar and renewable energy industry in the Middle East. This gathering marked a pivotal moment in the journey towards a sustainable future, shedding light on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s pivotal role in shaping the new global energy landscape.

Omar El Duraie, Managing Director at Citi, honoured us by conducting the event, which opened with welcoming speeches from Said Istambuli, Vice Chairman of PVH Middle East, Youssef El-Sayed, CEO of PVH Middle East, and Iván Higueras, Chairman of PVH and CEO of Gransolar Group. Their addresses outlined PVH’s significant contributions to the development of solar Energy within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the MENA region.

Financing challenges in energy transition

Keynote speaker Jason Channell, Head of Sustainable Finance at Citi, delivered a powerful presentation titled “Clean Energy Transition: Global Outlook and Challenges for the Middle East”. Channell tackled critical questions surrounding the transition to clean energy and the challenges of its financing. In a detailed presentation, he suggested that private capital would need to play a pivotal role in the financing of the coming mega projects in the region, and raise the stakes to over 2 trillion USD in the coming years. He also explored the current status of the power sector and renewable energy targets in the MENA region, emphasizing the potential of Green Hydrogen (H2) in the area, setting the stage for a thought-provoking open discussion.

The guests then had a chance to share their questions and comments with the room about how renewable energy targets and commitments are reshaping economies and industries, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Middle East, especially KSA, has emerged as a strategic player in steering towards a cleaner future, and the discussion highlighted KSA’s efforts to diversify its energy mix and the capacity of foreign companies, like PVH, to adapt to the local needs and create subsidiaries in the area that will fulfil the needs of the local projects. PVH Middle East has been operating in Jeddah since 2021 and has recently reformed its factory to create a state-of-the-art facility with a capacity of over 8GW and more than 400 local staff.

Strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change in utility-scale solar plants

The final part of the PVH Summit focused on a special presentation entitled Strategies to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events on large-scale solar PV plants by Ivan Arkipoff, CTO of PVH, and Antonio de Dios, R&D Director of PVH. They addressed the pressing issue of increasing extreme weather events driven by climate change and their potential impact on PV plants, particularly when utilizing large-format modules. Arkipoff and De Dios offered insights into how PVH addresses the issue with proven measures to enhance robustness by improving the structures’ mechanical resistance through innovative materials and design. This way, the company minimizes the impact on solar PV plants while maintaining maximum efficiency.

The PVH Summit served as an ideal platform to share knowledge, explore challenges and create a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. The event underscored PVH’s commitment to advancing the renewable energy sector and its role in supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious goals for 2030.