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Germany: Solar conference told Saudi Arabia will export as much solar energy as petrol

Saudi Arabia will export as much solar energy as it does petrol today, according to the country’s Minister for Petrol and Raw Materials Ali Al-Naimi, who was speaking at a one-day Saudi-German solar conference, held today in Magdeburg, Germany.

Haseloff welcomes the Saudi Arabian delegation (from L to R, 5th from L Minister Haseloff, 4th from L Saleh H. Al Turki; Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabie, 6th from L Jürgen Sander; Member of Board of the Numov e.V.). Image: Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt.

As part of a three-day visit to Germany, a Saudi-Arabian economic delegation attended the conference, which was designed to look at the Saudi Arabian solar industry. Germany’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. Reiner Haseloff was there to welcome them.

“It is a special distinction for our business centre that a Saudi-Arabian delegation will stay in Saxony-Anhalt for three days to talk about economy," he said. "The Arabic countries have a high growth potential; in the future, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will drive investment. Therefore, I am glad to note the interest of the biggest national economy of the Middle East is in renewable energies. This is a field in which the economy of Saxony-Anhalt excels. During the last years, we have become a top location for the solar sector.”

During the delegation’s three-day visit, the Saudi Arabian representatives will be briefed, in particular, on the potential of Saxony-Anhalt as a renewable energy pole. The prelude of the visit was the solar conference, which was attended by more than 100 representatives of companies and research institutions from throughout Germany. The delegation will also visit the “Solar Valley” in Thalheim and Q-Cells SE.

It has been said that Saudi Arabia will invest USD$120 billion over the next 25 years in developing its renewable energy industry; a special focus will be placed on solar energy “for both domestic and export use”. Additionally the kingdom provides “excellent” conditions for the extraction of solar energy through photovoltaic, solar heat and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies, as it only experiences about 10 days of rain a year and in the summer can typically produce up to 970 trillion kWh of energy in the form of sunlight within 24 hrs.

Delegation representatives comprised: Al Faisaliah Group Holding Co. Ltd.; Saudi Electricity Co.; the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; the King Saud University; and the Saudi-Arabian Ministry of Finance.