The clean technology industry has seen a sudden growth in confidence for water technologies in 2014, according to EY’s 4th Mena

Cleantech Survey Report.
The report, which was launched at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, gauges the sentiment of senior industry executives

on renewable energy implementation in the region.
“A significant shift in the expectations of industry executives occurred during 2014 with regard to the growth of clean

technologies in the Mena region over the next five years. Innovation in water technologies is helping drive energy efficiency in

the region, especially given the mostly hot, arid climate.
“It’s interesting to note that water was mentioned less frequently as a growth area over the last three years, yet it has now

become the leader in market potential over the next five years. Prospects for investment in water infrastructure in 2014 have

also improved markedly over previous years,” said EY’s Mena Power and Utilities leader Christian von Tschirschky.
Solar was ranked second in terms of market potential over the next five years, although it was ranked first place over the past

three years. Confidence in solar had been growing based on the announcements of new projects and policies in the region, owing to

its low pricing and interest rates and abundant solar resources.
Following water and solar in the survey results are green buildings and energy efficiency. These technologies may rise in

importance over the coming years, given their highest return on investment and fastest payoff as well as the high levels of

energy consumption in several Mena countries.
EY’s Mena Power and Utility director Nimer Abu Ali said, “Cleantech is finding widespread acceptance in the region. Technological

breakthroughs in solar, wind, and water are driving the increased importance of cleantech among regional leadership, legislators

and government entities.”
He added, “Decreasing cost of solar and wind farms, coupled with the development of rooftop generation technology, are providing

more options to countries to lower their dependency on fossil fuels. Future developments will see the region adopt technologies

such as electric cars, smart metering, and a host of other clean technologies.”
These rankings were mirrored closely in the GCC. Water technologies, for example, edged-out solar as the fastest-growing

cleantech technology.  Energy efficiency and green buildings were also ranked third in the GCC. Due to climatic conditions and

high energy usage, energy efficiency and green buildings will continue to remain a top priority for the GCC countries, the report

said.
Across Mena, the report revealed that insufficient government policy frameworks and regulations continued to be the largest

barrier to the development of the cleantech industry in 2014. This barrier has continued to grow in importance over the past few

years.
The report also noted that price competitiveness in 2014 remained the second most important barrier in the GCC. The sharp decline

in cleantech prices over the past few years, however, is not considered significant in the Mena region as cleantech is still

considered to be too costly to deploy, it added.