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The
King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KACST) on Sunday
launched a major national initiative to produce desalinated water and
electricity at a much cheaper rate — less than a riyal for a cubic
meter of water and 30 halalas per kilowatt/hour.
Prince Turki
bin Saud bin Muhammad, vice president of KACST for research institutes,
said the initiative would reduce the cost of water and electricity
production by 40 percent. He said the first solar-powered desalination
plant with a capacity of 30,000 cubic meters would be established in
Al-Khafji to serve 100,000 people.
The
project will reduce dependence on oil and gas to operate desalination
plants. At present desalination plants on the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf
consume a total of 1.5 million barrels per day. The new nanotechnology
for using solar energy to operate desalination plants was developed by
KACST in association with IBM…
Saudi Arabia supplies more than
18 percent of the world’s total desalinated water…Petroleum and Mineral
Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi [recently said] the Kingdom aims to
make solar energy a major contributor to power supply in the next 5-10
years…The oil minister also pointed out that King Abdullah University
of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, near Jeddah, would use its
research facilities to develop solar energy to meet a significant
portion of the Kingdom’s growing power needs. Electricity demand in the
Kingdom is growing at the rate of seven percent annually.
click to enlarge
The
new initiative was carried out by the ministries of finance, water and
electricity, and commerce and industry, and the Saline Water Conversion
Corporation. There are lots of scope for Saudi Arabia to use solar
energy because of the availability of strong sunlight throughout the
year, estimated at 2,000 kilowatt for each square meter.
In the
second phase of the project, a desalination plant with a capacity of
300,000 cubic meters of water daily will be established…
posted by Herman K. Trabish
Solar energy initiative launched
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, 25 January 2010 (Arab News)
