Solar power in Saudi Arabia has become more important to the country as oil prices have risen. In 2011, over 50% of electricity was produced by burning oil. The Saudi agency in charge of developing the nations renewable energy sector, Ka-care, announced in May 2012 that the nation would install 41 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity by 2032. It is projected to be composed of 25 GW of solar thermal, and 16 GW of photovoltaics. At the time of this announcement, Saudi Arabia had only 0.003 gigawatts of installed solar energy capacity. A total of 24 GW of renewable energy was expected by 2020, and 54 GW by 2032. 1,100 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaics and 900 megawatts of concentrated solar thermal (CSP) was expected to be completed by early 2013. Also in 2013, solar power in Saudi Arabia had achieved grid parity and was able to produce electricity at costs comparable to conventional sources.
In March 2018 Saudi Arabia announced that together with Softbank they plan to install 200 Gigawatt of solar power until the year 2030. This compares to a global solar power installation of 100 Gigawatt in 2017. In the year 2016 Saudi Arabias solar capacity stood at 77 Gigawatts.
Video Solar power in Saudi Arabia
History
The United States and Saudi Arabia jointly set up a solar-research station in Al-Uyaynah village. The village, located about 30 miles northwest of Riyadh, had no electric supply at the time. The station is operated by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. The agency established an experimental assembly line at the site to manufacture solar panels. The equipment on the assembly line was imported from Europe, and the solar cells are imported from Taiwan. The line's capacity was quadrupled within a year.
Saudi Arabia's first solar power plant was commissioned on October 2, 2011, on Farasan Island. It is a 500 kW fixed tilt photovoltaic plant.
Maps Solar power in Saudi Arabia
See also
- Solar power by country
- List of renewable energy topics by country
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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