# A Review on Solar Energy Utilization and Projects: Development in and around the UAE
## 9 Solar Energy Industry  
According to a 2011 study by [PERSON] et al. (2018) on the solar energy industry in the UAE, there are 77 private companies available in the UAE; among them are 28 in trading, 1 in assembly, 4 in manufacturing PV panels, thermal-collectors, and mirrors, and 44 in installation and other activities, including design, consulting, installation, maintenance, system integration, and turnkey. In the Fujairah emirate (eastern region of the UAE), Microsoft International Co, formerly Solon International, is the sole manufacturer of solar cells in Fujairah, UAE, as noted in Table 4. This factory was originally located in India before being relocated to Fujairah, UAE, in 2003. The facility has a total size of 30,000 square feet. The firm can produce 2.5 M solar cells of various sizes. The facility cost USD 3 million to build. It has an annual production capacity of 200 MW. Wet and chemical processing, diffusion, screen printing, silicon nitride coating, and solar-cell testing are among the production procedures handled by the factory's divisions. The product development process includes laser cutting, drawing wafers, diffusion furnaces, wafer preparation, printing and firing lines, and cell testing. Orders totaling USD 10 million have been placed for shipping to China and Germany. Given the existing demand and supply for solar cells, as well as significant orders in the pipeline, the company has increased the plant's installed capacity from 2.5 M to six million solar cells/year by the first quarter of 2005. In the emirate of Dubai (northern region of the UAE), Maysun Solar FZCO, the first solar module manufacturer, was founded in 2013 in Jabel Ali, Dubai, UAE. This company specializes in the production of solar panels. This plant produced mono and poly modules from 150 W to 370 W--36, 60, 72 cells. It has a nameplate capacity of 40 MW to be expanded to 100 MW in the future. Moreover, its factory capacity is up to 500 MW/year. To provide the highest quality, this plant may use high-quality raw resources from manufacturers around the world, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, South Africa, Canada, and the EU. Testing, production, raw material acquisition, and quality inspection are all part of the plant production process, including EL and flash tests. Its solar projects were installed in various parts of the UAE, as mentioned in Table 5.  
Almaden MENA FZE is one of the UAE's solar panel manufacturing companies, based in the Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai, UAE, established in 2017. It is the largest ARC solar double-glass manufacturer in UAE. The plant's capacity was initially set at 150 MW (first phase); however, it may be increased in the future. This plant has a total area of 15,000 m\({}^{2}\), comprised of 3000 m\({}^{2}\) manufacturing space and 3000 m\({}^{2}\) warehousing space. This plant is mainly focused on raw material supply in the solar industry, solar panel manufacturing, and solar project development. This plant produces modules of both mono and polycrystalline solar panels from 325 W to 340 W--40, 50, 60, 72 cells. Its solar projects were installed in various parts of the UAE, for example, swimming pools, rooftop solutions, petrol stations, villas, shading solutions, and agriculture (2019). DuSol Industries is the first solar module manufacturer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This plant produces modules of monocrystalline, polycrystalline, thin-film, and flexible types. DuSol, in collaboration with Japanese and German equipment manufacturers, has a 50 MW annual capacity automated line for off-grid and on-grid modules. DuSol manufactures all modules, including off-grid modules, in an automated line with little human participation. This ensures that the modules are of the greatest quality and are of constant quality. This line is unique in that it was designed expressly to generate different-sized modules for off-grid development, including 40-150 Wp, as well as developing high-frequency panels of 240-260 Wp, utilizing 60 polycrystalline solar cells for grid markets (2010).