Solar energy has become a weapon for energy transformation in Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia

The Arabian Peninsula has been a barren land that can only support nomads since ancient times, but in the Primordial Age it was a fertile and shallow sea. After geological changes, it contained a large amount of oil. In the 20th century, it became an important area affecting world history, strategy and economy. But the world is moving towards decarbonization and rejecting fossil fuels, and even if it does not, the oil will always run out one day.

However, in the era of green energy, a desert in the Arabian Peninsula has once again become a source of energy, but this time it is not from the ground, but from the sky, that is, solar energy. Due to the clear skies and sunshine, the vast wasteland has just become the best area for the development of solar energy. The Gulf countries, led by Saudi Arabia, are actively thinking about energy transformation, and naturally take solar energy as the focus of transformation.

Saudi Arabia currently has a limited solar power generation capacity of only 455 megawatts, and is planning large-scale solar power plans to increase to nearly 40 gigawatts (gigawatt) by 2025, and a total renewable energy generation capacity of 60 gigawatts by 2030. Saudi Arabia has pushed many large-scale plans across the country, including the $500 billion New Future City (NEOM) plan, a solar energy program of 20-40 GW, which will be paired with a $5 billion green energy hydrogen plant, and the Red Sea plan, which will have 400 Million watts of solar power, paired with the world's largest independent renewable energy grid storage scheme.

At the same time as the large-scale construction of solar farms, Saudi Arabia also wants to take the opportunity to become a solar energy producer. It will build 23 solar panel factories in 12 industrial cities, with a planned total annual production capacity of 1.2 GW.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, which derives half of its revenue from oil, continues to rely on oil to finance major national programs, while hoping to rely on these programs to replace oil revenue in the future. Large-scale programs across the country are scheduled to help Saudi Arabia achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, and Saudi Arabia can also use these carbon reduction plans to issue green bonds. In addition, Saudi Arabia also adopts the concept of carbon circular economy and plans to plant trees on a large scale, on the one hand, it absorbs carbon dioxide, and on the other hand, it also improves the problem of land desertification.

Other Gulf countries also have similar plans. Qatar's Al Kharsaah solar project (see the first picture) has a power generation capacity of 800 megawatts, which is scheduled to be completed and activated in mid-2022; Mohammed bin Rashid Dubai, a 5 GW of United Arab Emirates The solar park scheme, along with the 2 GW Di Hafra solar scheme, will come online in 2030.

Other Middle East and North African countries like Iraq, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia have similar plans. In addition to the advantages of sunshine resources in terms of latitude and climate, the Gulf of Poland and neighboring countries in the Middle East and North Africa are also located in the geographical location of the intersection of Europe, Asia and Africa, which is also a great advantage, which is conducive to exporting solar energy to European countries. Countries are gearing up, and it is expected that the solar power generation capacity in the Middle East and North Africa will reach 8.309 GW in 2022.

Led by Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, UAE, Oman, Qatar and other countries not only develop solar energy, but also actively introduce auxiliary technologies, including energy storage and other renewable energy auxiliary technologies, such as artificial intelligence, new future achievements The plan is to regulate 100% renewable energy by artificial intelligence. The Saudi smart grid market is expected to reach $3.6 billion by 2030.

Middle East and North African countries are also facing immediate threats from climate change, with higher and higher temperatures in recent years, with Kuwait recording a high temperature of 54°C. In any case, countries need to plan ahead for the post-oil era, and ultra-large-scale renewable energy plans are imperative. However, solar energy also has hidden concerns in the Middle East and North Africa. Sand and dust will cause the panels to need to be cleaned frequently, and the performance of solar power generation will decrease under high temperature, which will become the target of technology research and development.