The Gap Between an Oil-Rich Country and the Movement to Decarbonise the Energy Sources in Saudi Arabia

Running head: The gap between an oil-rich country and the movement to decarbonise the energy sources in Saudi
Arabia
THE GAP BETWEEN AN OIL-RICH COUNTRY AND THE
MOVEMENT TO DECARBONIZE THE ENERGY SOURCES IN
SAUDI ARABIA

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The gap between an oil-rich country and the movement to decarbonise the energy sources in Saudi Arabia
Executive Summary
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest exporters of oil and most of its revenue comes from
their export business of oil. It has been observed that currently, there has been an increased
prevalence of the use of non-renewable sources of energy in Saudi Arabia. Presently, the proven
oil reserves that are present in Saudi Arabia are about 268 billion of barrels that would last about
the next 70 years. Therefore, it is essential that the government of Saudi Arabia take certain steps
in order to mitigate this issue of the increased use of non-renewable sources of energy. In the
past few years, this country has been facing energy crisis for non-renewable sources of energy.
Therefore, the government has planned to use their natural resources in order to mitigate this
issue of the prevalent energy crisis.
The government of Saudi Arabia needs to take specific measures in order to minimize the
use of non-renewable sources of energy as it impacts the health status of most of the people.
Most of the people of Saudi Arabia suffer from chronic pulmonary disorders and therefore, it is
essential to use these renewable sources of energy. Renewable source of energy is highly
effective in replenishing these non-renewable sources of energy and can be used for generating
power. It has been seen that most of the countries are switching to these renewable sources of
energy in order to save power for their sustainable use in the future.
The main aim of this research study is to propose a solar panel installation on rooftop
houses in Jeddah. The previous researchers have failed to mention the efficiency of using solar
panels during night time or during rainy days. Moreover, the researchers had not installed any
solar panels and therefore, majority of the house uses non-renewable sources of energy. This
appraised literature would detail the necessities of installing such solar panels in Jeddah in order
to ensure high usage of solar energy for generating electricity. Moreover, a detailed investigation

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The gap between an oil-rich country and the movement to decarbonise the energy sources in Saudi Arabia
of the rooftop materials would also be evaluated in this research study. In this study, both
primary, as well as secondary research has been undertaken that highlight the necessities of using
renewable sources of energy. A primary research on households was carried out in order to
understand their perception regarding the installation of rooftop solar panels on their houses.
Most of them have revealed that they would prefer to use such solar panels for generating
electricity, however; such panels should not harm the existing infrastructures of their houses.
The proposed research project has been enriched by the previous works of scholars on
this issue. Hence, it may be influenced by published facts pertaining to the current socio-
economic conditions prevailing in Saudi Arabia. The nation is targeting an investment of
approximately forty-seven billions in the next three years to install photovoltaic cells in the
domestic electrical grid. The proposed plan involves a steady supply of 10% of total power
demand (9,500 MW) through solar energy. The proposed solar plant is planned to install in
Jeddah due to the area being abundantly exposed to sunlight.
An adequate amount of available sunlight would help these solar panels to store a high
amount of solar energy that could be converted into electricity. Therefore, this high availability
and exposure to sunlight would help these houses to get a continuous flow of electricity. The
overall cost for conventional generation electricity is supported by the government. Thus, it is
anticipated that the Saudi Arabian government may extend the required funding for the proposed
solar power project. Saudi Arabian government can use issue-specific intervention strategies to
mitigate obstacles related to climatic and demographic barriers. Saudi Arabia exhibits the effect
of prolonged mining and urbanisation on climate and its effect on human activities like power
generation.
Summary of the opportunity

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The gap between an oil-rich country and the movement to decarbonise the energy sources in Saudi Arabia
Installation of rooftop solar panels would overall help the houses of Jeddah to receive a
continuous flow of electricity. Furthermore, Jeddah is exposed to high sources of solar energy
and therefore, the installation of solar panels would be highly beneficial. Moreover, it can also be
seen that most of the households do not have any issue with such installation of rooftop solar
panels. Thus, the researcher has planned to install such kind of rooftop solar panels in order to
store a huge amount of solar energy and later convert it to electricity. This sort of using solar
energy would help to minimize the raise non-renewable energy crisis that affects the entire
country.

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The gap between an oil-rich country and the movement to decarbonise the energy sources in Saudi Arabia
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 8
1.1 Introduction 8
1.2 Research scope 8
1.3 Significance of the research 9
1.4 Rationale 10
1.5 Problem statement 13
1.6 Aim and objectives 14
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 15
2.1 Introduction 15
2.2 Current planning of Saudi Arabia regarding the use of non-renewable sources of energy 15
2.3 Significance of domestic installation of solar panels 16
2.3.1 Use of semiconductors 19
2.3.2 Conduction of electricity and the energy bands 19
2.3.3 Semiconductors in solar panel 21
2.4 Monocrystalline silicon solar cells 21
2.4.1 Crystalline silicon cells with their advantage and disadvantage in generating solar
energy 22
2.4.2 Thin film solar cells with their advantage and disadvantage in generating the solar
energy 23
2.5 Diffusion and adoption protocol 26

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The gap between an oil-rich country and the movement to decarbonise the energy sources in Saudi Arabia
2.5.1 Robert and urban model of a rooftop solar system 27
2.6 Photovoltaic modules in generation of solar energy 28
2.6.1 Photovoltaic system and solar panel 31
2.6.2 Power conditioning equipment 32
2.6.3 Photovoltaic arrays 33
2.7 Irradiance on the solar collector plane 34
2.8 Grid connected rooftop solar systems 36
2.8.1 Role of inverter in case of grid-connected solar panels 36
2.8.2 Advantages and disadvantages of grid-connected solar panels 37
2.9 Demand of distributed power supply 38
2.10 Organic photovoltaic technologies 40
2.11 Credibility of organic photovoltaic technologies in domestic power grids 41
2.12 Gap in literature 43
2.13 Conclusion 44
CHAPTER 3: SCOOPING OF THE PROJECT 46
CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY 49
4.1 Research philosophy 49
4.2 Research approach 50
4.3 Research design 50
4.4 Data collection tools and techniques 50
4.4 Data analysis tools and techniques 51
4.5 Primary market research 51

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The gap between an oil-rich country and the movement to decarbonise the energy sources in Saudi Arabia
4.6 Stakeholders analysis 53
4.7 Costing and financing 54
CHAPTER 5: ECONOMIC STATUS OF SAUDI ARABIA TO PRODUCE SOLAR ENERGY
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5.1 Introduction 55
5.2 Energy generation 55
5.3 Economics of Solar Energy 56
5.4 Steps of government for solar energy 58
5.5 Need for production of alternative energies 59
5.6 The environmental condition of Saudi Arabia 60
5.7 Factors that are required for driving Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia 62
5.8 Domestic Energy demand in Saudi Arabia 64
5.11 Value proposition to reduce carbon dependency 69
5.12 Preservation of contingency and regulation 70
CHAPTER 6: MARKET ANALYSIS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY DEMAND 72
6.1 Analysis of the current market 72
6.2 Participation of local human resource 75
6.3 Constraints of the project 76
6.4 SWOT analysis 77
6.5 Work Breakdown: 79
6.6 Gantt Chart 82
6.7 PESTLE analysis 83
6.6 Project specification 85

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The gap between an oil-rich country and the movement to decarbonise the energy sources in Saudi Arabia
6.7 Material and technology costs 86
6.8 Cash flow 87
6.9 Simulation of on-grid solar energy consumption 88
6.10 FORSA design 90
6.11 Risk analysis 90
6.12 Environmental impact assessment 92
Quality of air and the greenhouse gases 93
CHAPTER 7: GENERATION OF ENERGY 94
7.1 Significance of renewable sources of energy 94
7.2 Saudi Arabia and non renewable sources of energy 95
7.3 Saudi Arabia and its solar form of energy 96
7.4 Biomass-based solar panels 96
7.5 Solar Photovoltaics 97
7.6 Types of solar technology 98
7.7 Demand for solar energy in Saudi Arabia 99
7.8 Proposed uses of solar panel in bigger project and manufacturing department 101
CHAPTER 8: FUNDING AND COSTING 106
Sources of finance 106
Financial expenditure 107
CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 109
Conclusion 109
Objective linking 109