Now here’s a contest worth taking part in! Everything energy related, it seems, is being touted as “The Saudi Arabia of X”. The metaphor has grown clichéd and tedious. A blog from The New York Times is asking readers to come up with a replacement, not a moment too soon!

Contest: Replace the ‘Saudi Arabia’ Trope!
Kate Galbraith

On Monday, as I was listening to a press call with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Mr. Reid spoke some proud words:

Nevada, he said, is the “Saudi Arabia of solar energy.”

But is it? Indeed, with all due respect to Mr. Reid, claims for “the Saudi Arabia of solar energy” have already been made on behalf of Australia and Africa.

Forbes recently suggested that Saudi Arabia is the Saudi Arabia of solar power.
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