The
earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than the world uses in
a whole year (Hydrogen).
The
Muslim country of Saudi Arabia is the most energy rich country in the world from
many perspectives. They are the world's fifth largest petroleum producer, have
the world’s largest solar energy collecting facility in the world, and can
claim the largest center of spiritual energy during the hajj time in Mecca
(cloudnet). Some reports claim Saudi Arabia has little incentive to develop
solar power since they have such vast reserves of petroleum energy resources.
Other experts suspect that Saudi Arabia is busy developing solar energy
resources for its own usage so they can free up more oil for export (EIA).
However, official documents of the Kingdom state that," “Saudi Arabia has
been working to reduce its dependence on crude oil as the dominant source of
national energy and income (Al-Athar). It is the Kingdom's view that such
exhaustible resources ought to be more wisely used in developing other products
more beneficial and useful to mankind” (saudiembassy.net). In fact, sunlight
is actually Saudi Arabia's largest natural resource, not petroleum.
Saudi
Arabia is listed on the map of the top five places for potential photovoltaic
generation of electricity around the world (Hydrogen). The Kingdom receives some
of the most intense sunlight in the world: 105 trillion kilowatt hours a day,
which is the equivalent of 10 billion barrels of crude oil in energy terms
(Saudiembassy.net). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia extends from Azimuth 50 to
Azimuth 35 and from latitude 17 in the south to latitude 32 in the north. The
average annual solar radiation failing on the Arabian Peninsula is then about
2200 kWh (th)/m2. These figures highlight the fact that solar
insulation is uniquely available in all the areas of Saudi Arabia at high
intensity all year round (Al-Athel). This makes Saudi Arabia one of the most
likely candidates for a country run by solar energy.
Although
nearly 50% of the world's solar cell production is from Japan and they also lead
in solar energy usage, Saudi Arabia is quickly catching up with the rest of the
world in the area of solar energy and even making quite a few original
contributions itself (Solar Energy Global). The first ever demonstration of
solar cell usage was in 1954 by AT&T in Murray Hill, New Jersey (Bellis).
However, Saudi Arabia was not far behind. The first photovoltaic energy was
installed by the French at an airport in Medina in 1960. Since then Saudi Arabia
has invested many resources towards the development of solar energy in the
Kingdom (Al-Athel).
The
King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) is responsible for the
administration and supervision of all research projects in various scientific
areas (Saudi Embassy). KACST provides funding for solar energy research in the
Kingdom as well. It also funds various cooperative efforts with organizations
around the globe. KACST's most ambitious applied research project is the Solar
Energy Research Program. The program encompasses a multitude of projects, many
in cooperation with Saudi industries, universities, research institutes and
American scientific organizations. It is under them that all of Saudi Arabia’s
solar projects run.
Under
this umbrella the Kingdom has many ongoing projects in solar energy towards this
goal. They include:
1.
SOLARES: A joint venture with the USA to develop solar energy in the Kingdom
2.
The Saudi Solar Village Project
3.
The Saudi Controlled Agricultural Environmental Project
4.
The Renewable Energy Resource Program
5.
The Saudi-German Joint Commission on Solar Energy
6.
HYSOLAR: A joint program with Germany that produces hydrogen from the sun.
7.
350W Solar Demonstration System in Riyadh
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solar
panals in the desert
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One
product of SOLERAS's work is the Solar Energy Water Desalination Plant, a
facility located about 24 miles south of Yanbu on the Red Sea. The plant has the
capacity to produce 48,080 gallons of desalinated water daily. A Date Research
Center in Al-Hasa has long used solar thermal dryers for ripening and drying
dates and is currently studying how these processes affect the dates'
nutritional value. KACST is also conducting a solar-cooling experiment and has
designed a solar thermal cooker. KACST has also implemented solar-powered
highway signs and lighting. In addition, in May 1999, Saudi scientists and
engineers completed the design of a solar-powered car, the first to be designed
locally (EIA).
The
Solar Village Project is located about 50km northwest of Riyadh and was set up
to provide remote villages not on the power grid with electricity (Al-Ather).
With a capacity of 350 kilowatts, this is the world's largest solar powered
electricity generating system (Saudi Embassy). The entire project site occupies
an area of over 67 thousand square meters and provides over 1.5 Mwh of
electrical energy per day to three rural villages. The Solar Controlled
Environmental Agricultural Project aims to integrate agriculture with solar
energy through the formation of solar greenhouses.
The
largest application of energy in Saudi Arabia, however, remains the solar
powered heating complex of the King Abdulazziz Training School in Tabuk. To heat
14 of the 22 buildings of the 50-hectare school, solar collectors (covering a
total surface area of 4370 M2) were used. The solar heat collected is used to
supply 40% of the building heat and 100% of the domestic water needs 36,000
gallons a day, enough to serve 400 houses (Al-Athel).
However,
the government is not the only entity in Saudi Arabia concerned with solar
power. According to the new general manager of the Saudi operations of BP Solar,
Abdulmohsin Mohammed Al Shoaibi, demand for alternative energy forms will grow
steadily in the foreseeable future as more companies and individuals use solar
panels integrated on buildings. BP is now concentrating research on perfecting
solar panels that could one day be used as a building material to cover the
south-facing sides of office towers (Al-Nisr). Certainly, then, ..."He
has made subservient to you the sun and the moon pursuing their courses, and He
has made subservient to you the night and the day (Qur'an 14:33)."
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