Saudi Arabia is gearing up for a huge investment in solar power. The man who is championing the use of solar power is none other than the prince of Arabia, Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammad. He may seem to be a traditional Saudi prince but he is an intelligent leader who has rightly guessed the importance of solar power, even for a petroleum rich country like Saudi Arabia.
The initiative
The Saudi government is building a solar panel production plant at commercial scale near Riyadh. There is another factory located near the Persian Gulf coast that will soon start manufacturing polysilicon, which is mainly used for producing the solar cells. Two major companies, Saudi Armaco and Saudi Electricity Company are planning to join forces to work on 10 of the biggest solar power plant projects around Saudi Arabia.
So far, Saudi Arabia has been one of the key players in producing and supplying non-renewable sources of energy. The country also wants to become one of the biggest players in the field of renewable energy production. The profit and immense scope of the renewable source of energy allured Saudi Arabia towards solar energy and not concern regarding global warming.
Now Saudi Arabia not just wants to produce solar panels but the nation also has plans to export them across the globe. Better infrastructure and readily available resources can help them produce low cost solar panels.
The secret motivations
Ali Al Niami has mentioned in a business and climate conference in Paris that fossil fuel is not going to be the major source of energy for long. By 2050, chances are high that fossil fuel will become secondary to renewable sources of energy like solar power and wind energy.
Chinese companies have been working on easy to implement solar technologies and have started producing low cost solar panels. The cost of solar energy has decreased by 80% in last couple of years. The Saudis are looking at solar power as their means to stay in the energy game.
The domestic usage of fossil fuels in Saudi Arabia is increasing at a rate of 7% per year. This has also allured them to tap solar energy and fulfill their energy requirement. By using solar power domestically, they can curb the use of fossil fuels and remain the fossil fuel giant for the years to come.
Saudi Arabia is investing in solar energy to maintain their position as the leading supplier of fossil fuel. They also have plans to export solar panels and make their presence felt in the global market.
