Saudi Arabia should install more solar power over the next 20 years than any country has managed so far, while simultaneously building around 21 GW of nuclear reactors. This is the opinion of the body responsible for planning the Saudi energy mix and presented in its 8 May report to the Saudi government.
That body is the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), set up to advise on the energy mix. It has concluded that the kingdom should try to build nearly 41 GW of solar capacity (around 16 GW in photovoltaics and about 25 GW of concentrating solar power), enough to meet a third of expected peak power demand in 2032. A sixth of installed capacity should come from nuclear and about half from oil and gas. KACARE says the kingdom should aim to build this new capacity by 2032.
The world’s largest oil producer has created only a small amount of solar power capacity to date, less than 50 MW, although its ambition to become a major solar power producer was set out some years ago. But the target of 41 000 MW, if met, would propel it towards the top of the solar power table. World solar leader Germany installed more than 7000 MW in both 2010 and 2011, raising its total at the end of last year to 25 000 MW.
Solar power could in combination with Saudi oil and gas fired power plants help meet peak demand for power in a country where electricity demand surges in summer,.
Under most of the scenarios modelled by KACARE, nuclear energy emerged as one of the best ways for generating baseload electricity, and the 21 GW target implies that more reactors would be built during the next 20 years than those currently planned by any country other than China, India, Russia or the USA, according to World Nuclear Association data.
