Solar energy in Saudi Arabia

We've used the Sun for drying clothes and food for thousands of years, but only recently have we been able to use it for generating power. This energy drives the climate and weather and supports virtually all life on Earth. The Sun is 150 million kilometers away, and amazingly powerful. Just the tiny fraction of the Sun's energy that hits the Earth (around a hundredth of a millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs many times over. In fact, every minute, enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for a whole year - if only we could harness it properly.
There are three main ways that we use the Sun's energy:-
Solar Cells that convert light directly into electricity. In a sunny climate, you can get enough power to run a 100W light bulb from just one square meter of solar panel. This was originally developed in order to provide electricity for satellites, but these days many of us own calculators powered by solar cells.
Solar water heating where heat from the Sun is used to heat water in glass panels on your roof. This means you don't need to use so much gas or electricity to heat your water at home
Solar Furnaces use a huge array of mirrors to concentrate the Sun's energy into a small space and produce very high temperatures.
Is it renewable?
Solar power is renewable. The Sun will keep on shining anyway, so it makes sense to use it.
Advantages:-

•Solar energy is free - it needs no fuel and produces no waste or pollution.
•In sunny countries, solar power can be used where there is no easy way to get electricity to a remote place.
•Handy for low-power uses such as solar powered garden lights and battery chargers.

Disadvantages:-

•Doesn't work at night.
•Very expensive to build solar power stations.
•Can be unreliable unless you're in a very sunny climate. In the United Kingdom, solar power isn't much use except for low-power applications, as you need a very large area of solar panels to
get a decent amount of power. However, for these applications it's definitely worthwhile.

When we talk about a sunny climate the middle east is one of the sunniest climates in the world specially the Saudi Arabia is a large country with an area of 2.3 million km2. It is a relatively rapidly developing country and so demand for electricity is growing on average at around 5% annually. Over the next 25 years, it is estimated that US$117 billion will be invested in the country’s power sector. The state power grid system has supplied electricity to approximately 80% of the population living in the state capitals and industrial centers. It is highly uneconomical to extend the electrical power grid system into the sparsely populated regions of the Kingdom. Hence there are many small remote communities that need an independent source of electrical energy. These locations represent a significant potential for renewable energy applications. The importance of using renewable energy in Saudi Arabia will not only be confined to meeting the demands of remote sites, but can also contribute to the national grid, helping to meet the peak-load demand during the summer months.
Even though Saudi Arabia is a leading oil producer, it is keenly interested in taking an active part in the development of new technologies for exploiting and utilizing renewable sources of energy. The most natural renewable energy sources which is freely available is solar. The power in the earth's wind and in the solar radiation, which reaches the earth, is sufficient to make significant as well as strategic contributions to the Kingdom energy supply.
Recognizing the sun as a major natural resource with which Saudi Arabia is blessed in abundant measure (2200 thermal kilowatt hours (kWh) per square meter) it is believed that solar energy is a valuable and renewable energy source that should be fully exploited for the benefit of the country.
Solar radiation data is available from different sources in the Kingdom. Among these are the Meteorology and Environment Protection administration , Saudi Aramco and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. Reliable quantitative data on the daily and annual distribution pattern of solar energy at given locations are essential not only for assessing the economic feasibility of solar energy utilization, but also for the thermal design and environmental control of buildings and greenhouses. It has been found that the existing Saudi Solar Radiation Atlas does not cover all the parts of the country.
Applications of solar energy in Saudi Arabia have been growing since 1960. Research activities commenced with small-scale university projects during 1969, and systematized major research and development
work for the development of solar energy technologies was started by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in 1977. For the last two decades the Energy Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology has conducted major research, development and demonstration work in this field. The Energy Research Institute has a number of international joint programs in the field of solar energy including SOLERAS with the United States of America, and HYSOLAR with the Federal Republic of Germany. These joint programs were directed towards projects that were of mutual interest to the committed countries involved and concentrated on large demonstration projects such as electricity generation, water desalination, agricultural applications, and cooling systems. Major solar energy research, development and demonstration
projects executed by the Energy Research Institute are listed in Table brief description of these projects and their associated technical accomplishments.

List of solar energy project conduction by Energy Research Institute, the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology
Projects & Location & Duration & Applications
350 kW PV System (2155 MWh) Solar Village 1981-87 AC/DC electricity for remote areas
350 kW PV hydrogen production plant (1.6 MWh) Solar Village 1987-93 Demonstration plant for solar hydrogen production
3 kW PV test system Solar Village 1987-90 Demonstration of climate effects
4 KW PV system Southern regions of Saudi Arabia 1996 AC/De electricity for remote areas
6 kW PV system Solar seawater desalination Solar Village 1996-98 PV grid connection
Solar-thermal desalination Solar Village 1996-97 Solar distillation of brackish water
PV in agriculture (4 kWph) Muzahmia 1996 AC/Dc grid connected
Long-term performance of PV (3 kW) Solar Village Since 1990 Performance evaluation
Fuel cell development (100-1000 W) Solar Village 1993-2000 Hydrogen utilization
Internal combustion engine (ICE) Solar Village 1993-95 Hydrogen utilization
Solar radiation measurement 12 stations 1994-2000 Saudi solar atlas
Solar dryers Al-Hassa, Qatif 1988-93 Food dryers (dates, vegetables, etc.)
Two solar-thermal dishes (50 kW) Solar Village 1986-94 Advanced solar stirling engine
Energy management in buildings Dammam 1988-93 Energy conservation
Solar collectors development Solar Village 1993-97 Domestic, industrial, agricultural
Solar refrigeration Solar Village 1999-2000 Desert application

The solar-energy research, development and demonstration activities throughout Saudi Arabia have confirmed that it has a multitude of practical uses. These include lighting, cooling, water heating, crop/fruit drying, water desalination, the operation of irrigation pumps, and the operation of meteorological stations, and in providing road and tunnel lighting, traffic lights, road instruction signals and for small applications at remote sites. However, effective utilization of solar energy in Saudi Arabia has not yet made reasonable progress mainly due to several obstacles, some of which are listed as follows]:

The wide availability of oil, its superiority to solar energy as a source of energy and its relatively low cost
The dust effect, which in some parts can reduce solar energy by 10—20%.
The availability of governmental subsidies for oil and electricity generation and non-availability of similar subsidies for solar energy programs. If such subsidies must continue then solar energy will require incentive programs.

The experience gained in the field of renewable energy research and development
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the last two decades has been in the field of solar energy and has been very valuable. The international joint programs have assisted in the establishment of a series of independent research, development and demonstration projects on solar energy by the Energy Research Institute, and several other users throughout the country. The following can be concluded in this regard:

1. Valuable lessons have been learned from the Kingdom experience in the field of solar energy, which are believed to be very useful to other countries with similar climatic conditions,
as well as to the scientific community in general.
2. A wealth of experience has been gained in the assessment, instrumentation, calibration, data collection, monitoring and analysis of solar energy projects.
3. Low and medium solar thermal energy applications in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are technically and economically feasible and should be encouraged and supported by the government.
4. The feasibility of wind energy utilization in the Kingdom has not yet fully explored. Experience in this regard will be gained from the installations by the King Abdulaziz City for Science
and Technology
5. More feasibility studies have to be conducted in the field of hybrid systems.
6. In developing countries efforts should be directed to finding applications of those renewable systems that have already been developed in industrialized nations.
7. Effective utilization of renewable energy systems requires government subsides.
8. Interaction between regional renewable research centers and local research centers and industries must be promoted.
9. Awareness among the public about the use and importance of utilization of renewable energy has to be increased.
10. Renewable energy education and training programs must be incorporated as part of educational programs.

References:-

•http://www.kfupm.edu.sa
•Shaahid S. M. and Elhadidy, M. A. "Wind and solar energy at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia" Renewable Energy .
•Huraib F. S, S. M. Hasnain and S. H. Alawaji “Lessons learned from solar energy projects in Saudi Arabia “Renewable Energy.