Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Technical and Economic Feasibility of Utility-Scale Solar Energy Conversion Systems in Saudi Arabia

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Electrical Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A move toward renewable energy sources has become a global trend due to the economic and the environmental inconveniences of fossil fuels. Solar energy receives a great share of research focus owing to its availability and eco-friendly characteristics. Different approaches are advised and implemented for converting solar energy into electricity. Photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) systems are the most promising technologies in this field. PV is simply direct conversion of solar energy into electricity. It gains the advantages of size/power versatility. Meanwhile, CSP converts solar energy to electricity indirectly via thermal energy. This article introduces a comprehensive comparison between PV and CSP types regarding technical and economic feasibility of utility-scale solar power plants. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is taken as a case study. The different types of either CSP or PV have been tested under hourly climatic data of 10 locations throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by using system advisor model software from National Renewable Energy Laboratory in order to identify the appropriate type of these systems to Saudi Arabia. The article produces fairly accurate forecasting for utility-scale solar energy market in Saudi Arabia. Several significant conclusions are presented that could act as reference for solar energy projects. For example, solar PV and parabolic trough are preferred candidates in Saudi energy market due to the lowest levelized cost of electricity. The minimum cost of electricity was found to be 0.06$US/kWh that was generated by solar trough technology in the Solar Village site.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almarshoud A (2016) Performance of solar resources in Saudi Arabia. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 66:694–701

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almasoud AH, Gandayh H (2015) Future of solar energy in Saudi Arabia. Journal of King Saud University Engineering Sciences 27:153–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • AlYahya S, Irfan M (2016a) Analysis from the new solar radiation Atlas for Saudi Arabia. Sol Energy 130:116–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2016.01.053

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • AlYahya S, Irfan M (2016b) The techno-economic potential of Saudi Arabia’s solar. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 55:697–702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Avezova NR, Khaitmukhamedov AE, Usmanov AYu, Boliyev BB (2017) Solar thermal power plants in the world: the experience of development and operation. Appl Sol Energy 53(1):72–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Awan A, Shaftichi T, Abu-Khalil A (2016) Feasibility and estimation of technical potential and calculation of payback period of roof-top solar PV system in the city of Majmaah, Province of Riyadh, K.S.A. J Energy Nat Resour 5(1):12–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azzam YA, Ibrahim N (2018) A feasibility study of the use of solar photovoltaic energy in Saudi Arabia: a case study assessment in a factory in Zulfi City. ASME J Sol. Energy Eng 140(4):041013–041013-11. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4039551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behar O (2018) Solar thermal power plants—a review of configurations and performance comparison. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 92:608–627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosatra M, Fazi F, Lionetto P, Travagnin L (2010) Utility-Scale PV and CSP solar power plants performance, impact on the territory and interaction with the grid. In: Power-Gen Europe 2010, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Demirbas A, Hashem A, Bakhsh A (2017) The cost analysis of electric power generation in Saudi Arabia. J Energy Sources Part B Econ Plan Policy 12(6):591–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elhadidy M, Shaahid S (1999) Feasibility of hybrid (wind + solar) power systems for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Renew Energy 16(1–4):970–976

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman D, Hoskins J, Margolis R (2018) Q4 2017/Q1 2018 Solar Industry Update, NREL

  • Fu R, Feldman D, Margolis R, Woodhouse M, Ardani K (2017) U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmark: Q1 2017 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Technical Report NREL/TP-6A20-68925

  • Gage B, Borry R (2012) Technological niches: Concentrated solar thermal vs. photovoltaic solar. Principal Solar Institute. http://www.greenrhinoenergy.com/solar/technologies/cst_energy_yield.php

  • Gielen D (2012) Renewable energy technologies: cost analysis series, concentrating solar power. Int Renew Energy Agency 4(2/8):1–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurupira T, Rix A (2017) PV simulation software comparisons: PVSYST, NREL SAM and PVLIB. In: 25th Southern African Universities power engineering conference (SAUPEC, 2017) January 30–February 1, 2017, South Africa

  • Hinkley J, Hayward J, Curtin B, Wonhas A, Boyd R, Grima C, Tadros A, Hall R, Naicker K (2013) An analysis of the costs and opportunities for concentrating solar power in Australia. J Renew Energy 57:653–661

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Islam M, Huda N, Abdullah A, Saidur R (2018) A comprehensive review of state-of-the-art concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies: current status and research trends. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 91:987–1018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar A, Prakash O, Dube A (2017) A review on progress of concentrated solar power in India. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 79:304–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo Y, Du X, Yang L, Xu C, Amjad M (2017) Impacts of solar multiple on the performance of direct steam generation solar power tower plant with integrated thermal storage. Front Energy 11(36):1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelsohn M, Lowder T, Canavan B (2012) Utility-scale concentrating solar power and photovoltaic projects: a technology and market overview. Technical ReportNREL/TP-6A20-51137

  • Miao B (2015) Outlook of power generation technology cost in China. A Master Thesis, Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, Spring

  • Moria H (2017) Techno-economic feasibility of a hybrid solar photovoltaic and wind power system for Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. In: The 2017 world congress on advanced in structural engineering and mechanics (ASEM17), pp 120–128, 28 August–1 September 2017, Seoul, Korea

  • Nassar Y, Salem A (2017) The reliability of the photovoltaic utilization in southern cities of Libya. J Desalin 209:86–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pazheri FR (2014) Solar power potential in Saudi Arabia. Int J Eng Res Appl 4(9):171–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashad M, El-Samahy A, Daowd M, Amin A (2015) A comparative study on photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal power plants. In: Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Energy, Environment, Development and Economics (EEDE 2015), pp 167–173, 16‐20 July 2015, Zakynthos Island, Greece

  • Review and comparison of different solar energy technologies. Global Energy Network Institute, 2011. http://www.geni.org

  • Saudi 2030Vision, https://vision2030.gov.sa/en

  • Shafiqur R, Maher B, Al-Moallem S (2007) Cost of solar energy generated by PV panels. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 11:1843–1857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Utility-scale solar photovoltaic power plants: a project developer’s guide. International Finance Corporation, 2015

  • NREL SAM U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, “System Advisor Model (SAM) —.” [Online]. https://sam.nrel.gov/

  • NASA remote sensing validation data: Saudi Arabia. https://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/new_data/Saudi_Arabia/#stations

  • Project gallery Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association. http://saudi-sia.com/project-gallery/

  • http://helioscsp.com/desertec-foundation-endorses-desertec-power-for-Kingdom-of-saudi-arabia/

  • Zhang F, Deng H, Margolis R, Su J (2015) Analysis of distributed-generation photovoltaic deployment, installation time and cost, market barriers, and policies in China. Energy Policy 81:43–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Assiut University, Asyût, Egypt

    Ahmed A. Hafez

  2. Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Sebha University, Sabha, Libya

    Yasser F. Nassar

  3. Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Shaqra University, Shaqra, Saudi Arabia

    Mohamed I. Hammdan

  4. Computer Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Palestine Technical University, Tulkarm, Palestine

    Samer Y. Alsadi

Authors
  1. Ahmed A. Hafez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yasser F. Nassar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mohamed I. Hammdan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Samer Y. Alsadi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ahmed A. Hafez.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hafez, A.A., Nassar, Y.F., Hammdan, M.I. et al. Technical and Economic Feasibility of Utility-Scale Solar Energy Conversion Systems in Saudi Arabia. Iran J Sci Technol Trans Electr Eng 44, 213–225 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40998-019-00233-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40998-019-00233-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation