Recently
it became known that the authorities of Saudi Arabia and the management of the Japanese SoftBank corporation signed an agreement on the establishment of the world's largest solar power plant in the country. Its capacity is estimated at 200 GW, and the project price is $ 200 billion US dollars. The creation of such an object will allow the Saudis to create about 100,000 new jobs.
The new station will increase the energy generated in Saudi Arabia three times. For 2016, this figure for the region was approximately 77 GW. Moreover, two thirds of the volume of energy supplied is produced by burning natural gas, the rest is oil. Despite significant insolation figures, it is solar energy that is used in the UAE in minimal amounts. Small power plants work, but this is, in most cases, systems for personal needs.
According to representatives of the project, the commissioning of the world's largest solar power plant will significantly increase the total capacity of the country's stations, and also bring solar energy to the first place in terms of energy production. Construction will be divided into several stages. Completion is planned for 2030.
Unfortunately, the technical details of the station are not yet known. It is reported only that the station will generate electricity using solar panels, rather than concave mirrors, which heat the tower with the salt melt in its upper part. At the moment, the most productive solar power plants are based on the above principle.
The figure of 200 GW is about 100 times higher than that of the project power plant, the construction of which is planned in Australia. Another 2 GW station will be built in Greece. In addition, slightly less productive stations of 1.3 GW, 1.18 GW, 1 GW will be created in the next few years in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and China, respectively.
In addition to energy, the construction of a new station will create about 100 thousand jobs and reduce energy costs. The station will reach maximum performance by 2030. The project is beneficial for Saudi Arabia, which needs energy, and for SoftBank, a company that constantly invests in new projects. Over the next 3-4 years, Softbank will invest approximately $ 25 billion in Saudi Arabia and its projects. This plays into the hands of the Saudis, since Prince Mohammed, one of the representatives of the new generation of rulers, announced his intention to diversify the economy of the region by removing it from the "oil and gas needle."
In addition to the power station, the Japanese company is going to invest about $ 15 billion in a new “smart” city,
called Noom . His prince is going to build on the coast of the Red Sea.
In March 2016, the Saudis launched the
Integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (ISEAS) . It got its name from hybrid production - the system produces both food and biofuel without harming the environment. This installation works in several stages. The first stage is the injection of water into the pools with fish fry or plankton. The second stage is the enrichment of the products of vital activity of fish, the water is sent to the plantations of plants that are able to endure heavily salted water without harm to themselves.
After the halophytes, the water, which lost some of its salinity, and also received a pile of fertilizers - waste products, is sent to mangrove plantations with salt-resistant plants. Purified water enters the filtration zone, from where it enters the ocean.
As for biofuels, it can be obtained in a number of ways, including silty deposits, halophytes, and mangroves. Humus from the plantations will not annoy anyone - it is collected and sent to the installation to obtain electricity and gas. Well, plankton and fish at any time can be used to create food. By the way, the electronics in the system works on solar energy.