The event, which was held in Riyadh, was jointly organized by the Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA), Joint Forces for Solar, EuPD Research and Intersolar.
The conference also say the release of a white paper, “The Potential of PV in and for Saudi Arabia,” jointly issued by EuPD Research, Viridis.iQ, and SASIA.
Nearly 300 high-level delegates and executives participated in this year’s conference. In addition to the general market conditions and opportunities offered by the Saudi Solar Energy Program, event speakers touched on issues of price policy in the region the localization of solar PV and solar thermal manufacturers and component suppliers, as well as the necessary on-site engineering, legal and professional services.
An opening session also looked at financing strategies and overcoming investment barriers.
According to the white paper, solar has a huge offsetting potential for the Kingdom: Oil which is currently used for domestic electricity generation can be sold on the world market instead.
But, it adds, the benefits of the deployment of the renewable program will not be limited to cost efficient power generation alone:
" Saudi Arabia will further ramp up a local PV manufacturing industry: The closing of existing gaps in the c-Si PV value chain (i.e. the establishment of a production for metallurgical silicon and solar cells) will lead to many benefits for the involved partners. When choosing the right technology path, region-specific characteristics could be taken into account to reveal attractive niche markets. Four cost categories determine the viability and competitiveness of a distributed or co-located integrated PV cluster -- local procurement conditions, labor costs, depreciation on fixed assets and long-term electricity prices which are amongst the lowest in KSA."
Besides creating direct and indirect jobs within the country, the report suggests the social benefits will include the long-term development of renewable energy programs in the education sector, and that will place the Kingdom is a leading position in terms of having workers ready to work in and move the industry forward.
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