Saudi Arabia’s Move to Solar Thermal and Concentrated Solar Power

A leading Arab newspaper is calling for Saudi Arabia to reconsider its stance of moving towards a clean energy future through investments in Nuclear Energy. The proposal calls for the replacement of oil and nuclear based electricity generation  with that of Solar Thermal and Concentrated Solar Energy. The Kingdom has invested $80 billion to expand its electric generation capacity with power demand growing by 8 percent in 2009 and an additional 60 megawatts expected to be needed by 2020.  According to the authors,  Saudi Arabia’s  initial plan was to meet growing energy demand with the use of crude oil, however the Kingdom has recently come under intense scrutiny due to environmental issues.

According to the American Energy Information Adminstration the only way to mitigate global warming is if the world’s energy consumption of fossil fuels is drastically reduced in the next 10 to 15 years. The same organization found that the use of nuclear power will only be effective in reducing  the cause of global warming by as little as 10 percent.

In April, however, there were announcements that the Kingdom is planning to open the King Abdullah City for Nuclear Energy and Renewable Energy in Riyadh. Former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Hashim Yamani, is expected to head of the new research city. “This is a massive step toward securing additional sources of energy and preserving oil for many decades. Turning to renewable energy will safeguard energy supplies for the ever-growing population and its increasing demand for desalinated seawater and electricity,” said Khaled Al-Sultan, rector of King Fahd University Petroleum and Minerals.

Al-Sultan also said that Saudi Arabia has a scientific and research talent for advancement in renewable energy at a time of “unprecedented and intense competition for alternative, diverse, sustainable, and reliable sources of energy to generate electricity and reduce the dependence on oil and gas.”

According to Christian Comes, SolarSales Division, SANYO Component Europe GmbH, Saudi Arabia is missing out on a great opportunity to not only use solar energy as a primary energy source but to profit worldwide from the renewable energy, as well.

“Saudi Arabia has enough sun and space to produce solar electricityto sell. However, due to the previously thought high investment, it has been ignored,” he said, adding that currently this factor is beginning to change. The fact is Saudi Arabia can generate enough power form the sun to take care of its and others’ energy needs. Some of Europe’s biggest corporations such as ABB of Switzerland, Munich Re, Deutsche Bank and Siemens, as well as others have launched a $570 billion solardevelopment program or Desertec, with initial installations to be in Egypt, and North Africa followed by Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Last year, Minister of Petroleum, Ali Al-Naimi, said: “Saudi Arabia aspires to export as much solar energy in the future as it exports oil now.”

Speaking to Arab News regarding the realistic possibilities of using solar energy, a representative of Siemens, said: “We expect that the market for solar thermal power plants is growing in many regions of the world. Key regional markets for solar thermal power are within the Sun Belt. There is currently significant demand in Spain, we are anticipating high growth rates in the US, north Africa, and the Middle East. Solar power will be profitable first of all in North Africa and the Middle East.”

Source: www.Arabnews.com

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