With the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region having substantial untapped potential of plentiful solar resources, a number of renewable energy projects in the region are now attracting an increasing number of investors, particularly from oil producing states.

The increasing investments that oil producing states are making in the renewable energy projects in the MENA region are largely a consequence of the fact that these states are trying to cut down their own dependence on diminishing fossil fuels; with another incentive being that their earnings from export of oil can far exceed the returns accruing from domestic use of oil.

However, though the MENA region has a huge potential for renewable energy, it accounted for barely 2 percent - nearly $5.5 billion - of the total 2011 global renewable energy investment which touched a record high of $257 billion.

While the 18 percent year-on-year fall in investment across the MENA renewable energy sector was chiefly a result of political and social turmoil, research firm Ventures Middle East has revealed that there are at least 10 solar energy projects - with a cumulative value of $6.8 billion - which are presently underway in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, and the UAE.

About the increasing investments by European countries in MENA renewable energy projects, Oilprice. com's geopolitical analyst Jen Alic said: "Solar investors in Spain, German, Italy and the UK are increasingly open to seeking opportunities outside Europe in order to survive in a potentially zero-subsidy environment."