As much oil-based energy Saudi Arabia may have, it has multiples of the energy potential available from solar energy. The Arab News pieces below focus on that potential and efforts now underway to make them a reality.
KAUST research to focus on solar energy: Al-Naimi
Asma Alsharif | ReutersJEDDAH: Research at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) may help Saudi Arabia develop solar energy to provide for a significant portion of the Kingdom’s power needs, Saudi Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said on Tuesday.
It aims to make solar a major contributor to energy supply in the next 5-10 years, he added.
“Saudi Arabia aspires to export as much solar energy in the future as it exports oil now,” Al-Naimi said.
Apart from cleaning up domestic fuels to reduce emissions, the Kingdom is also looking at carbon capture and sequestration, Al-Naimi said. KAUST would also eventually carry out research into algae for storing CO2 emissions, he added.
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It’s not only KAUST, however, that is working on developing the Kingdom’s solar potential:
Kingdom has potential to harness solar energy
Roger Harrison & Pathik Root | Arab NewsJEDDAH: The summer solstice occurred on June 21 at 05.45 UCT. During that 24-hour period, when the sun reached its farthest northerly arc, 970 trillion kilowatt hours of free energy beamed to earth. That, according to the US Energy Administration, is about 247 years supply of energy for America — in one day.
The best part is that sunshine is free. Any profit lies in the rights to place solar energy gatherers in national territories, the conversion of heat to electricity and the sale of energy. The fossil-fuel industry operates on much the same basis. However, there are a couple of significant differences.
The sun is not going to run out for several billion years, however much energy we can extract from it and we can utilize its energy with far, far less pollution. The biggest hindrance to solar adoption has been the perception of high economic cost compared to conventional oil-fired power plants.
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September:25:2009 - 19:22
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September:26:2010 - 18:16
Based on the 100′s of hours of DD I’ve done on this topic [solar energy in S.A. ], I’d say that S.A. will be coming on-line w/solar, much faster than indicated. Given the recent (& ongoing) power shortages encountered in the region, the increasing demand, the fast-paced improvements in solar tech and the commitment to solar by the regions leaders, solar is in the drivers seat now…IMO.
As a glaring example, I’d point to the progress made in the use of Quantum Dots for solar cells, made by and Solterra Renewable Technologies, in cooperation w/a number of institutions incl. KAUST (by-way-of KAUST’s solar director & Solterra’s CTO, Dr.Ghassan Jabbour). If interested, more info on this can be found at:
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Solterra has a presence in the S.A. region & fully intends to play a big part in fulfilling the solar needs of S.A. & the GCC.