Arab states are embracing solar power

TWO MILLENNIA after the ancient Egyptians dropped their solar deity, Ra, their descendants are rediscovering the power of the sun. In the southern desert, half an hour’s drive from Aswan, Egypt is putting the finishing touches to Benban, one of the world’s largest solar farms (pictured). Its 6m panels produce 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of energy, enough to power over 1m homes. “In a decade we’ll still need oil for plastics and other petrochemicals, but not for energy,” says Rabeaa Fattal, a Dubai-based investor in Rising Sun, one of Benban’s 40 fields.

Much of the modern Middle East and north Africa was built on oil. It exports more of the black stuff than any other region. A quarter of Middle Eastern power comes from it, compared with 3% from renewable sources. But the recent collapse in oil prices is a reminder that it is risky to depend on a single source of revenue. And in the long run the global trend is towards cleaner energy sources. Renewable-energy capacity in the Middle East has doubled to 40 gigawatts (GW) over the past decade and is set to double again by 2024.

With its vast deserts, the Arab world’s most abundant clean-energy source is the sun. Non-oil economies were first to take advantage of it. More than a third of Morocco’s energy now comes from renewables (in the EU the average is 18%). Oil producers are...