The Surprising $100 Billion Solar Investment

[FBaggins]

If you thought Germany and California were aggressively trying to add solar power to the grid, the oil state of Saudi Arabia is giving both of them a run for their money with recent plans to enter the solar market. The country is looking for investors in a $109 billion plan to build 41 GW of solar and a sustainable solar industry.

Why Saudi Arabia?
You may think that a state with an abundance of oil is the least likely candidate to be a big solar investor but that assumption would be wrong. There are two factors driving Saudi Arabia's entry into solar, and they're both very wise on the country's part.

First, Saudi Arabia has some of the best solar insolation in the world, meaning it gets lots of sunlight. GTM Research estimates that the country would have to cover about 0.1% of its landmass to match its power needs, so as solar costs fall the energy source becomes very attractive.

Second, the country generates most of its power from oil, which is costly. According to the Solar Energy Industries Alliance, the Saudis sell oil to power plants for $4 per barrel, versus the $100 it can get on the open market.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47448972/ns/business-motley_fool/

[NNadir]

1. As is the case around the world, the solar industry, no matter how subsidized,

will fail in Saudia Arabia, just as it has failed everywhere else in the world.

Europe in particular has well over one hundred billion investing in this toxicological nightmare and can't even produce as much energy as 3 smallish gas plants.

The worst part is that the solar industry would collapse, in a New York second, without it's pals in the fracking/gas industry.

Of course Saudi Arabia can easily afford to throw a few hundred billion down this rabbit hole.

[FBaggins]

2. Little chance of it failing in Saudi Arabia

Government capital and low hardware prices help immensely, but the real benefit is that it simply makes sense. They are the poster child for significant peak demand aligning with peak solar insolation. It's irrelevant that the sun doesn't shine at night because the difference between their daytime and nighttime demand is greater than any solar penetration they're going to attempt.

Solar power (PV and minor load shifting) makes a great deal of sense in S.A. -