Azerbaijan’s Zakh Renewable Energy and Engineering Manufacturing has opened a solar panel and building integrated photovoltaics factory in Ras Al Khaimah, adding local production capacity to a supply chain that still imports most modules.
Zakh Renewable Energy and Engineering Manufacturing, an industrial group based in Azerbaijan, has opened a solar panel and building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) manufacturing facility in the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (Rakez), according to a report. The 30,000 square metre plant in Al Ghail Industrial Zone has an annual capacity of 600MW of solar panels, alongside up to 500,000 square metres of BIPV facade solutions.
Zakh chief operating officer Marina Strateva said the Ras Al Khaimah base is an important milestone in the company’s growth, and that it will supply high quality solar panels and customised BIPV facade solutions to customers across the UAE, the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and international markets. She said Rakez had given the company the infrastructure and business environment it needed to expand its manufacturing ambitions.
The plant produces panels under Zakh’s FAERS brand, which began as a research and development initiative in Azerbaijan in 2017 before growing into industrial scale photovoltaic manufacturing. The company says its panels are designed to perform in high temperature, desert conditions, a factor relevant to Gulf grid operators and developers sourcing modules for regional solar projects.
Rakez Group chief executive Ramy Jallad said the facility brings specialised renewable energy manufacturing to Ras Al Khaimah’s industrial base and strengthens regional supply chains as demand for clean energy equipment grows. Zakh plans to expand its solar module capacity to more than 1.8 gigawatts in the coming years, with output aimed primarily at the UAE, the GCC and the wider Middle East and north Africa region, plus additional reach into Africa, Europe and the United States, Jallad said.
The facility adds to a small but growing base of solar panel manufacturing capacity inside the UAE, which still imports the bulk of its module supply for utility scale and rooftop projects. A locally produced BIPV line also gives UAE developers and contractors a nearby source for building integrated solar as green building codes push more facade and rooftop installations across the emirate’s construction sector.
