The growth in the population of Saudi Arabia and the increase in the country’s industries have caused a proportionate increase in the demand for electricity. Consequently, the continuous high loads need adequate and appropriate generation of power. However, it is a fact that power generation via fossil fuels is the major factor contributing to the pollution of the environment and affects the health of individuals via the emission of detrimental gases, including Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Oxides, and Carbon Oxides. As a result, it is important to get another option to assist the present traditional power generation in Saudi Arabia that also takes care of human health and the environment. The country is geographically strategic since it is located in the sun-belt, and possesses a large desert land, and its skies are clear throughout the year, making it one of the biggest solar photovoltaic energy producers. The average amount of energy obtained from sunlight in Saudi Arabia is 2200 thermal kilo Watts hour per meter square. Therefore, it is worthwhile to try to generate clean energy from direct sunlight via photovoltaic (PV) cells.
In 2015, Prince Turki began an aggressive plan to assist Saudi Arabia to prepare to make what he termed to be one of the world’s biggest investments in solar energy. The government has built a commercial-scale solar-panel factory in Riyadh ( Almasoud & Gandayh, 2015). Another factory on the Persian Gulf coast produces huge quantities of polysilicon, a substance used in the manufacture of solar cells. In 2016, the country’s companies that are owned by the state and that control the energy sector, Saudi Aramco (the globe’s largest oil company) and the Saudi Electricity Company (the country’s main electricity producer), jointly broke the ground on approximately ten solar projects across the nation. Turki leads two Saudi Arabian corporations that are embracing the use of solar energy: Taqnia (a government-owned enterprise that has various investments in renewable forms of energy and that is seeking for more) and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (a national research and development company that is based in Riyadh) ( Almasoud & Gandayh, 2015). He says that the country has a keen interest in solar energy, and it would soon explode in the country.
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In Saudi Arabia, such conversations are revolutionary since the country has been known to be involved in fossil fuel waste for decades. Consumers buy oil from the government at a price of fifty cents per a gallon and electricity for as low as one cent per a kilowatt-hour, a fraction of the lowest costs in the United States of America ( Almasoud & Gandayh, 2015). Consequently, the country’s highways are filled with fuel guzzlers, including Lincolns, Cadillac, and monster sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Few houses have insulation and people leave air conditioners running even when they are away. The country also produces most of its electricity through the burning of oil, a process that many countries left long time ago, resorting to use natural gas and coal instead, to save oil for transportation since there is no mainstream alternative for the same. Majority of the country’s power plants are inefficient, the same as its air conditioners, which consumed 70% of the power that was produced in the country in 2013. In 2015, the country had a population of 30 million people, but it was ranked as the globe’s sixth-largest oil consumer ( Almasoud & Gandayh, 2015). Consequently, the highlighted challenges have necessitated for the search for an alternative source of energy. The country is bestowed with some of the globe’s most intense sunlight and vast expanses of desert likely tailor-made for solar panel arrays.
The cost of solar energy has reduced by approximately 80% in the past few years. This phenomenon has been attributed to the growth in the number of Chinese companies offering cheap solar panels, highly-efficient solar technology, and increased interest by large investors in solar energy ( Alshehry & Belloumi, 2015). In 2012, Saudi Arabia said that it was aiming at building forty-one gigawatts of solar capacity by 2032, slightly above the world leader, Germany, currently has. One study estimated that that would be sufficient to cater for approximately 20% of the country’s projected electricity demands, an aggressive target, considering that by that time solar energy supplied virtually none of the country’s energy, and by then less than 1% of the world’s ( Alshehry & Belloumi, 2015).
Saudi Arabia’s Department of Energy has collaborated with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology to address other technologies used in renewable energy, which are wind, biomass, geothermal, and others. In rural areas, water is critical for the survival of the community, for irrigation, and watering of livestock ( Alshehry & Belloumi, 2015). Underground water is the main source of water in Saudi Arabia, and water is pumped onto the surface using diesel-powered engines. To operate continuously, such engines require a continuous supply of oil. Supply of oil to remote places may be too costly. Therefore, solar energy may be an ideal alternative source for pumping water and desalination. The first desalination and water pumping plant powered by PV was installed at a village in the country in 1994 ( Alshehry & Belloumi, 2015).
Similarly, Saudi Arabia has endeavored in the Solar Thermal Dish Project, which is targeted at producing fifty kilowatts from every thermal dish. The project encompasses the development, construction, and testing of two seventeen-meter diameter large-scale membrane solar concentrators. Each of those concentrators uses a huge hollow reflector that traps the sun. The units are combined with Sterling machines that change the solar thermal energy into mechanical energy, which is used to run 50 to 60-kilowatt peak electrical alternating current generator. The Project, which has been considered a success in generating 50 kW of electric energy from one concentrator dish, is still believed to be the largest form of dish in the world. The budget of the project was approximated to be eight million Deutsche marks ( Zell, Gasim, Wilcox, Katamoura, Stoffel, Shibli & Al Subie, 2015).
The Solar Water Heating Project is another important technology used in Saudi Arabia. The demand for electricity in the country has been on the increase, and this creates an imbalance between supply and demand. A major step towards reducing the consumption of electricity is the use of solar water-heating systems for various hot water applications. The largest use of solar water heating project is the solar-powered compound of the King Abdulaziz Airborne Training School in Tabuk. Solar collectors are used to heat fourteen out of the twenty-two buildings in the school ( Zell, Gasim, Wilcox, Katamoura, Stoffel, Shibli & Al Subie, 2015).
Currently, Saudi Arabia’s crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Softbank, a Japanese multinational corporation, to create two hundred gigawatts of solar power by the year 2030, costing his country a whopping 200 million dollars. If the solar-power plant is completed, it would be approximately two hundred times the size of the biggest solar plant in existence today. Moreover, it would be more than triple the country’s capacity to generate electricity from approximately seventy-seven gigawatts today. With modern technology, solar panels that are in a position to produce two hundred gigawatts would cover five thousand square kilometers, an area bigger than the world’s largest cities ( Zell, Gasim, Wilcox, Katamoura, Stoffel, Shibli & Al Subie, 2015).
Similarly, in February this year, the Saudi Arabian government contacted a Saudi energy company called ACWA Power to create a solar plant that would produce enough energy to power approximately forty thousand homes. This project was estimated to cost three hundred million dollars ( Rathi, 2018). It was also projected that it would create hundreds of job opportunities, according to the country’s leader of energy program, Turki al-Shehri. Saudi Arabia’s biggest solar plant that is operational covers a parking lot of Saudi ARAMCO, the national oil company in Dhahran. The plant is in a position to produce enough energy that serves a nearby office block. The experiment with solar energy still has been a pertinent catalyst, and the company came up with a group of experts in renewable energy ( Rathi, 2018). The experience assisted the country focus on traditional solar panels over concentrated solar, whereby mirrors concentrate sunlight to make heat.
The costs of solar energy have reduced from close to 90 ¢/kWh in the year 1980 to nearly 20 ¢/kWh today. The present cost of photovoltaic in America ranges between 18 to 23 ¢/kWh, and still there are hopes that would decrease further to approximately 5–10 ¢/kWh by 2019. In the year 2008, the average cost in Saudi Arabia for a unit of traditional generation of electricity (kWh) that was supported by the government was nearly SR 0.15 (Matar & Elshurafa, 2017). The overall cost of generating power for a conventional Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) utility at United States market price is 12 ¢/kWh, which is equated to SR 0.45. A ton of petroleum is equivalent to 6.84 barrels, and it can provide 11,630 kWh of traditionally generated power. Global oil prices were anticipated to grow from seventy dollars to nearly ninety-five dollars per barrel by 2015, and one hundred and eight by the year 2020. This implies that the cost of producing electricity using the conventional methods would increase rapidly (Matar & Elshurafa, 2017). However, the cost of producing power via the renewable sources would be cheaper compared to the use of fossil fuels, when the costs of such fuels, including public health and environmental costs, are considered.
Moreover, four approaches can be used to reveal the costs that are involved when traditional methods of power generation are used and when solar PV system is used. The comparison covers one decade, between 2010 and 2020 (Matar & Elshurafa, 2017). The first approach encompasses the subsidized price of traditional generation, which is 0.15 SR/kWh without considering indirect costs against photovoltaic –generated electricity costs. The approach reveals that the average solar energy costs would not be competitive with those of traditional systems until the year 2020. The second approach involves the non-government-supported price of traditional generation, which is 0.45 SR/kWh without factoring in indirect costs against solar energy systems. The cost was competitive with the prices of solar energy by the year 2011 (Matar & Elshurafa, 2017). The third approach includes the government-supported price of traditional power generation in addition to indirect costs against solar energy. The government supported cost of traditional power generation and the indirect costs is nearly 0.32 SR/kWh. The amount is approximated to be competitive with photovoltaic schemes by 2015 or by 2020 if there would be a worst-case scenario of high costs of solar energy. The last approach encompasses the unsupported price of traditional power generation and indirect costs against the cost of solar energy. The price is nearly 0.62 SR/kWh, and reveals that solar energy is presently more cost-effective compared to traditional power generation when the government does not support the prices and indirect costs are factored in. As a result, the most ideal state is the third approach since it is comparable to the present energy policy in Saudi Arabia (Matar & Elshurafa, 2017). Consequently, solar energy is anticipated to be competitive with traditional power generation by the year 2020.
Furthermore, one of the most significant elements that influence the need for solar energy is the anticipated future need for electrical loads. Normally, the initial issue that the designer has to consider is the load profile and the electrical load that the photovoltaic system should meet ( Mokheimer, Dabwan, & Habib, 2017). Estimating the electrical load encompasses formulation, analysis, and evaluation of alternative plans for increasing the capacity of the system so as to serve future loads. Electric load demands have been surging since 2000 in Saudi Arabia. As a result, the electrical loads necessitate sufficient power generation capacity. The growth in the population of the country has been the driving factor behind the increased demand for electricity. Based on intermediate estimates of the World Population Prospect of the United Nations, by the year 2020, the country is projected to have a total population of 34 million ( Mokheimer, Dabwan, & Habib, 2017). In the country, peak load demands take place on sunny days due to the heavy reliance on air conditioners. It coincides with the maximum incident solar radiation, a time that the Photovoltaic systems produce the highest power. On the other hand, load profiles in the nation reveal that the period of peak loads is mostly between 12:00 PM and 5:00PM ( Mokheimer, Dabwan, & Habib, 2017). Consequently, solar power plants would play a role in extending the peak load capacity and offer a portion of the spinning reserve capacity during the day, which is termed as peak saving.
There are various economic and environmental benefits of using solar energy in Saudi Arabia, which would be important to its people and economy in various ways. However, solar-powered devices depend on the continuous supply of specific particles known as photons to ensure that the process of generating electricity is consistent ( AlYahya & Irfan, 2016). As a result, the initial costs involved in the installation are quite high. This is due to the fact that a large number of panels have to be installed to generate sufficient amount of power, necessitating a significant financial investment. Additionally, there have been various challenges that made it difficult for the country to resolve to use solar energy. They include dust, which lowers solar energy efficiency by approximately 10% to 20% ( AlYahya & Irfan, 2016). It is not only the harsh conditions in the country that affect the use of solar energy, but also the increased availability of oil and its dominance as the most preferred source of energy and its comparably reduced cost in the country. Most importantly, the presence of government subsidies for electricity generation and oil and the absence of such grants for solar energy programs is a hurdle to the use of solar energy in Saudi Arabia.
However, the use of power generated from solar energy is economically important to Saudi Arabia. As the country faces the limited reality of oil capacity and the negative environmental effects that oil causes, the country has to rely on alternative sources of energy, including solar energy, to ensure that it diversifies its energy sources and lower its reliance on oil production ( AlYahya & Irfan, 2016). Since its economy highly depends on oil production, using solar energy would be the best approach towards diversification of the country’s energy supply in a very economical and beneficial way. Introduction and use of solar energy in Saudi Arabia would lower its reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity by approximately 40% ( AlYahya & Irfan, 2016). As a result, this reliable, free, and clean source of energy would be a replacement of the present energy efficiently.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia has plenty of natural resources, including sunlight and sand, which are pertinent resources in solar energy. The country’s Saudi National Center for Science and Technology reports that the annual radiation from the sun that reaches the Arabian Peninsula is approximately 2200 kWh/m2, which is more than sufficient to supply the entire region with power (Alhijab, 2017). Therefore, many new enterprises may be launched to invest solar energy that would empower the country’s economy. Furthermore, being free, infinite, and clean source of energy, can improve the living standards of the people of Saudi Arabia. This source of energy does not have other costs, except those involved in the initial installation, and with the current technologies used to improve the quality of its technology; it would become more efficient (Alhijab, 2017). Consequently, it would be more affordable to buy for almost every individual.
Similarly, in the last seven years, the cost of wind and solar power generation has reduced, and renewable energy is presently mostly cost-competitive in comparison with the traditional energy sources, including gas-fired power plants. Although battery technology is not there yet, advancements in efficiency and cost are being attained most often in this area too ( El Khashab & Al Ghamedi, 2015). At the same time, the prices of oil have faced high pressure in the recent past, and although they have been high since mid-2017, they are still lower than the level required by majority of the oil-producing governments in the region to take care of their budgets, and Saudi Arabia is no exception in this regard. Its government is aware that if it improves the share of renewable energy that is fed into the country’s grid, it would have more oil that can be exported to international customers ( El Khashab & Al Ghamedi, 2015). For local individuals and enterprises, the chance to possess a personal solar plant may also be alluring, in some parts, rooftop solar panels are cleaner, cheaper, and reliable compared to diesel-powered generators.
Additionally, solar energy would help Saudi Arabia meet the rapidly increasing demand for power. The country is large, covering an estimated area of 2.3 million km2. It is a relatively opulent country, and it is developing rapidly, making its demand for electricity to increase by 5% on average every year ( Al-Ugla, El-Shaarawi, Said, & Al-Qutub, 2016). This reveals the dire need for the country to have an alternative source of power to rely upon, which can easily be obtained from solar energy. Similarly, by 2028, United Press International Saudi Arabia would have reduced its oil production by 34% in order to lower Carbon emission to the atmosphere ( Al-Ugla, El-Shaarawi, Said, & Al-Qutub, 2016). As a result, a source of renewable energy, such as solar energy, has to be used to take care of the shortage.
In conclusion, it is evident that the application of PV systems would play an important role in the generation of electricity in the near future in Saudi Arabia. This is due to the fact that the country has a rich supply of sunshine, which it has to harness and use as a source of renewable energy. Moreover, the use of solar energy is an ideal approach to the country since its population is soaring and the need for more power is increasing. To curb the increased cost of producing electrical energy via the conventional methods, which heavily rely on fossil fuels, the country has to embrace the use of solar energy. This is because it has proved to be cost effective and a reliable source of power. Moreover, with the increased improvements in technology related to PV systems, the country would be in a position to obtain higher power that can be used to meet both the industrial and domestic electricity needs. Consequently, solar energy is a good choice for Saudi Arabia and its benefits would help the country become more competitive regarding energy use.
References
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