Oil Giant Saudi Arabia Is Set to Start First Wind-Power Plant

[ThunderBlade + 231]

According to Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is poised to start generating wind power within three years as part of an effort to harness renewable energy to cut local demand for fossil fuels.The renewable energy units of Electricite de France SA and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. completed arrangements with Saudi and international banks to finance the project, according to a statement from Masdar, as the Abu Dhabi business is known. Masdar didn’t identify the lenders. EdF Renewables and Masdar won a contract in January to build the 400-megawatt Dumat Al Jandal facility, which is to begin producing electricity in the first quarter of 2022. The project will be the biggest wind-power plant in the Middle East when it begins producing, Masdar said. Saudi Arabia is seeking to develop new industries to wean its economy off oil. Its sovereign wealth fund plans to invest in renewable energy facilities and factories to make components for solar and wind farms. The country wants to use more natural gas and renewable energy to free up roughly 600,000 barrels of crude that it currently burns each day to generate power. The energy ministry has pre-qualified 60 companies to bid for 12 renewables projects it plans to tender this year, starting this month, with a goal of adding 3,000 megawatts of capacity.

[francoba + 93]

With money, everything is possible to do. 
"A new device created by researchers in Saudi Arabia can purify water through solar power. The team has been able to generate up to 1.64 liters of water per square meter of solar panel surface every hour..."

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a28355795/solar-panels-saltwater-farming/

[Pavel + 384]

Solar power is "obviously" the right energy solution for Saudi Arabia, and yet MBS insists on nuclear power. Of course, he plans to pursue nuclear weapons eventually...

[50 shades of black + 254]

2 minutes ago, Pavel said:

Solar power is "obviously" the right energy solution for Saudi Arabia, and yet MBS insists on nuclear power. Of course, he plans to pursue nuclear weapons eventually...

Then, he’s covering it by saying he’s going to build power plants... makes sense

[damirUSBiH + 327]

Maybe they could have tried with solar ... Surely, solar would be a better idea as its usually 100+ degrees in the shade.

[BALBOA + 37]

The Saudi Arabia of wind power? Step forward, but wind "can't bring" the money, right?

[joze44 + 39]

32 minutes ago, francoba said:

With money, everything is possible to do. 
"A new device created by researchers in Saudi Arabia can purify water through solar power. The team has been able to generate up to 1.64 liters of water per square meter of solar panel surface every hour..."

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a28355795/solar-panels-saltwater-farming/

Still, OPEC is the most important tool in Saudi hands...

[rainman + 263]

2 minutes ago, joze44 said:

Still, OPEC is the most important tool in Saudi hands...

If you are ignoring solar -  Saudi Arabia is geographically well positioned to take advantage of solar technology in an efficient manner. Their weather patterns are also conducive to efficient solar power generation.No doubt.

[Kirk + 12]

59 minutes ago, francoba said:

With money, everything is possible to do. 
"A new device created by researchers in Saudi Arabia can purify water through solar power. The team has been able to generate up to 1.64 liters of water per square meter of solar panel surface every hour..."

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a28355795/solar-panels-saltwater-farming/

This is very important. Similar tech will be used in U.S. desalination in the next decade. Already a third of America has water problems.

Think about what the pipeline company right of ways become worth as we transport water. 

[Kirk + 12]

55 minutes ago, Pavel said:

Solar power is "obviously" the right energy solution for Saudi Arabia, and yet MBS insists on nuclear power. Of course, he plans to pursue nuclear weapons eventually...

You are correct sir, imo. MBS, whom I've written about, is incredibly important if he can keep from being assasinated. 

Prince MBS And The Peak Oil Plateau 

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4129919-prince-mbs-peak-oil-plateau

He certainly wants to be in a position to get nukes, especially if a new POTUS doesn't want to be their protector anymore. 

As for alternative energy, SA is building massive solar. So are a lot of places. 

The current wind to solar mix is 2:1. It's moving in the exact opposite direction with solar getting 2/3 of the money now. 

While alternative energy is only 4% now, that was 1% less than a decade ago. In the next 10-15 years, that 4% will grow to 8% to 16% and maybe higher. This coincides with greater electrification and EV penetration (though watch out for those Toyota and Volvo hybrids). 

Meanwhile, lack of long cycle oil investment will along with flattening of production in shale (due to less to high grade, tech limits and likely new regulation) will lead to higher oil prices in the early 2020s. 

Conclusion: there are good investments throughout the energy space at current depressed prices, from gas to oil to wind to solar to batteries.

[NickW + 2,714]

4 hours ago, Kirk said:

You are correct sir, imo. MBS, whom I've written about, is incredibly important if he can keep from being assasinated. 

Prince MBS And The Peak Oil Plateau 

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4129919-prince-mbs-peak-oil-plateau

He certainly wants to be in a position to get nukes, especially if a new POTUS doesn't want to be their protector anymore. 

As for alternative energy, SA is building massive solar. So are a lot of places. 

The current wind to solar mix is 2:1. It's moving in the exact opposite direction with solar getting 2/3 of the money now. 

While alternative energy is only 4% now, that was 1% less than a decade ago. In the next 10-15 years, that 4% will grow to 8% to 16% and maybe higher. This coincides with greater electrification and EV penetration (though watch out for those Toyota and Volvo hybrids). 

Meanwhile, lack of long cycle oil investment will along with flattening of production in shale (due to less to high grade, tech limits and likely new regulation) will lead to higher oil prices in the early 2020s. 

Conclusion: there are good investments throughout the energy space at current depressed prices, from gas to oil to wind to solar to batteries.

Apart from the NW KSA is a poor prospect for wind. I would have thought most investment should go into Solar where they will get the best return and solar is very predictable 

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

5 hours ago, damirUSBiH said:

Maybe they could have tried with solar ... Surely, solar would be a better idea as its usually 100+ degrees in the shade.

Concentrated solar, yes; photovoltaic power, no. Heat is the number one enemy of solar cells and the primary failure mode. 

Acting like desalination with solar is something new? They taught it in survival school over 50 years ago. 

[ceo_energemsier + 1,818]

On 7/22/2019 at 9:06 AM, Kirk said:

This is very important. Similar tech will be used in U.S. desalination in the next decade. Already a third of America has water problems.

Think about what the pipeline company right of ways become worth as we transport water. 

Current desal tech is out dated , newer ones are on the horizon very soon and at a  much lower operating cost, infrastructure build out and initial investment. The Saudi's and Q8i's are jumping all over it to get their hands on the use of it or buy out of the techs.

In the US this will be a great relief for coastal and inland consumers alike, as it will be able to treat both sea water and sweet water sources.

As far the the ROWs go for the pipelines , they could probably be included in the existing thousands and thousands of miles of pipelines for oil, products and gas lines ROWs.

[John Foote + 1,135]

I've seen the wind maps for Saudi Arabia. There are sections of the Kingdom where it makes sense, but it's not like the wind corridors of Texas where even a state as pro oil & gas has wind outperforming coal.

The Kingdom needs to embrace wind/solar to end burning crude for electricity and desalination. Nuclear is what it is. I am fine with it environmentally, but I don't think it makes fiscal sense in the Middle East. At least not the technology probably proposed in a land that loves grand.

Solar obviously makes sense, but the efficiencies aren't what you might expect. The output per panel is substantially degraded by the heat. Those of us who have/had solar panels know they prefer a sunny Fall day to mid-summer Texas madness. And sand build-up on the panels is an issue.

In the end it's not optimum theoretical efficiency that matters, but costs per KW over time. Based on actual awards, and programs in the UAE, the KSA should go solar, and they will, it's more a when than an if.

But the spend of governance, and the odd way business is awarded and implemented will delay things. I saw a small utility scale project fail because the contract installing the panels was different than contractor installing the inverters. Both got installed, and each contractor blamed the other for issues, and four years later not a single watt had been produced. Another similar project succeed for a couple of years, but the AC failed in the building housing the inverters, which then fried and nobody repaired them. Live in the region and you see such folly regularly. The country also burns silly amounts of electricity with diesel, which in theory is a great opportunity for smaller solar, but not as long as you subsidize diesel and electricity generated with crude. Additionally the regulations and infrastructure don't really support grid based tie-ins on a distributed power level.

FWIW, desalination has negative environmental impacts as well. Spend some time diving in the Red Sea. One of the world's great corals is getting wiped by the increased heat. Still really nice north of Jeddah, but around the Farasan Islands the corals are dying, probably from Jazan's desalination and power production. Temperatures in the ocean matter. Water temps also really effect atmospheric weather. The heck with CO2 in the air.

The simple fact is extreme deserts, ecologically speaking, shouldn't have dense populations. We aren't destroying nature, that's impossible, in the end nature will always adapt. Just is natures response an adaptation that works well for people. 

[NickW + 2,714]

45 minutes ago, John Foote said:

I've seen the wind maps for Saudi Arabia. There are sections of the Kingdom where it makes sense, but it's not like the wind corridors of Texas where even a state as pro oil & gas has wind outperforming coal.

The Kingdom needs to embrace wind/solar to end burning crude for electricity and desalination. Nuclear is what it is. I am fine with it environmentally, but I don't think it makes fiscal sense in the Middle East. At least not the technology probably proposed in a land that loves grand.

Solar obviously makes sense, but the efficiencies aren't what you might expect. The output per panel is substantially degraded by the heat. Those of us who have/had solar panels know they prefer a sunny Fall day to mid-summer Texas madness. And sand build-up on the panels is an issue.

In the end it's not optimum theoretical efficiency that matters, but costs per KW over time. Based on actual awards, and programs in the UAE, the KSA should go solar, and they will, it's more a when than an if.

But the spend of governance, and the odd way business is awarded and implemented will delay things. I saw a small utility scale project fail because the contract installing the panels was different than contractor installing the inverters. Both got installed, and each contractor blamed the other for issues, and four years later not a single watt had been produced. Another similar project succeed for a couple of years, but the AC failed in the building housing the inverters, which then fried and nobody repaired them. Live in the region and you see such folly regularly. The country also burns silly amounts of electricity with diesel, which in theory is a great opportunity for smaller solar, but not as long as you subsidize diesel and electricity generated with crude. Additionally the regulations and infrastructure don't really support grid based tie-ins on a distributed power level.

FWIW, desalination has negative environmental impacts as well. Spend some time diving in the Red Sea. One of the world's great corals is getting wiped by the increased heat. Still really nice north of Jeddah, but around the Farasan Islands the corals are dying, probably from Jazan's desalination and power production. Temperatures in the ocean matter. Water temps also really effect atmospheric weather. The heck with CO2 in the air.

The simple fact is extreme deserts, ecologically speaking, shouldn't have dense populations. We aren't destroying nature, that's impossible, in the end nature will always adapt. Just is natures response an adaptation that works well for people. 

I wondered how those solar panels they put over the parking lots at Al Midra in 2011/12 performed? 

No rain and that dust which is more like clay gets baked on with the dew early in the morning. 

[John Foote + 1,135]

1 hour ago, NickW said:

I wondered how those solar panels they put over the parking lots at Al Midra in 2011/12 performed? 

No rain and that dust which is more like clay gets baked on with the dew early in the morning. 

They worked for a time. It was essential for the LEED certification. The small building wit the Inverters was by the chillers, AC went out, inverters slightly after, never repaired. They never succeeded in getting the panels for the NP 1 & NP 2 parking online but the panels were installed, expensive shade for cars. They did succeed in taking that parking lot offline for a time so an entire summer everyone had to walk to Al Midra to park or catch a bus. It is seriously hot June thru August. Then a mistake in the configuration of the new parking lot, not leaving access for the busses, delayed things. I actually was a bit glad because I had a bet on an over/under for when the parking lot would come up. I won easily by projecting longer than anyone could fathom. 

[NickW + 2,714]

3 hours ago, John Foote said:

They worked for a time. It was essential for the LEED certification. The small building wit the Inverters was by the chillers, AC went out, inverters slightly after, never repaired. They never succeeded in getting the panels for the NP 1 & NP 2 parking online but the panels were installed, expensive shade for cars. They did succeed in taking that parking lot offline for a time so an entire summer everyone had to walk to Al Midra to park or catch a bus. It is seriously hot June thru August. Then a mistake in the configuration of the new parking lot, not leaving access for the busses, delayed things. I actually was a bit glad because I had a bet on an over/under for when the parking lot would come up. I won easily by projecting longer than anyone could fathom. 

Sounds familiar. 

Is that building still sick building syndrome central? When I worked in it I got a terrible headache within 10 minutes of walking in which didn't resolve until I left the building. 

My view was they never outgassed it before commissioing and it was full of formaldehyde and VOC's from all the fittings and furniture.