November 5, 2015 - Sargent & Lundy's Kurt Neubauer and Matt Thibodeau chaired workshops at the Desert Energy Leadership Summit held in Dubai on November 3-4, 2015. The meeting is an invitation-only event for the top 250 leaders and decision makers in the MENA Renewables Sector.

Thibodeau chaired the workshop on Renewable Technology, which examined what role new technologies can play in project development and accelerating the adoption of renewables. The session also presented the outcomes of Dii’s various technology-focused working groups on photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies, wind, and energy storage.

Neubauer chaired the workshop on Grid Integration and Expansion. The interactive session addressed issues relating to grid connections and the integration of renewables into the power market. The participants provided a special review of selected local markets and their challenges, illustrated with case studies.

The Summit is organized by Dii (Desertec Industrial Initiative), a private industry international consortium, including Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power, Germany's RWE, and the State Grid Corporation of China. The organization focuses on overcoming practical hurdles to developing and accelerating utility-scale renewables in the MENA region and Turkey.