Presentation at the US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum (Dec 5-7, 2011, Atlanta, GA). Jim Brown, President, Global Sales First Solar, presented at the panel titled, "Nuclear and Renewable Energy: Building Resources for the Future." His presentation was called "Solar PV: A Critical Component of KSA’s Energy Sollution.
10 GW PV at 27% capacity factor (based on EPR for potential project in Saudi) results in 6.1% of total power supply (MWh). 10% of power supply would require ~16 GW PV.Oil displacement is for 10 GW in 2020. Degradation will result in lower oil-displacement over time.2020 load profile based on same hourly load as 2009 but increased at 5.6% CAGR (see back-up for analysis behind 5.6% growth assumption – 5.6% is conservative).PV output is relatively stable over the course of the year for the following reasons:Irradiance does not vary much between summer and winter due to Saudi Arabia’s southerly location (KSA occupies the same latitudes as Mexico) and relatively stable weather conditions (i.e., it’s sunny virtually the entire year).The gains in irradiance during summer are offset by performance losses due to higher temperatures. (CdTe temperature coefficient is less than other PV technologies, so offset due to higher temperatures is not as severe as with other PV.)