Discuss about the Energy Storage Of Concentrated Solar Power In Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association.
A concentrated solar power plant is a type of regeneration where solar radiations fall on a wide area that could extend to several square meters. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant makes use of mirrors in order to concentrate the energy that comes from the sun to drive engines and turbines that will, in turn, generate electricity. This thermal energy that has been concentrated in a Concentrated Solar Power plant could be used to generate electricity whenever it is required either during the day or at night. The energy could also be stored for future use. Considering the current kingdom of Saudi Arabia, innovative solar projects have indicated marvelous support for a future that would be sustainable for those projects [1]. A non-governmental organization referred to as the Saudi Arabia Solar Industry Association (SASIA) has been on the forefront in shoeing dedication towards making Saudi Arabia attain the desirable massive solar potential. This research problem, therefore, is aimed at developing a substantial energy capacity that is required and one which has to be supported by a lot of international industries.
From the human development point of view, the production of energy in most of the Saudi Arabian deserts have not been able to depend on the predicted advantages that come as a result of the different export revenues. This is mainly for the purpose of gaining effects of development in the given regions. Comparison to the country precise, tailored and more famous issues, however, have been deemed vital and necessary [2]. In order to solve the above-stated research problem, we, therefore, apply the concept of capacity to assist in producing results for the sustainable development.
Scientific gap
A major field of scientific research is about putting into consideration the potential creation of benefits under an aspect of socio-economic research. The creation of benefits has been ranging from the creation of value chain, the creation of employment opportunities as well as the potentials of the local manufacturing markets in comparison to the complex analysis of the effects of developments [3]. The extension also goes towards planned analysis of the criteria for sustainability as well as the effects of sustainable human developments, access to human rights and the subsequent effects on livelihoods. Also worth noting is that from a more theoretical aspect, the problem is greatly required for constructive research from an angle of natural science and feasibility.
The lack of knowledge is seen from the point of risk perception, challenges of security as well as international relations. By putting the focus on the institutional frameworks of the Middle Eastern countries, we realize that there are a lot of opportunities that enable developing security through better cooperation regionally for the renewable types of energy. From the European point of view though, we also get to realize that there have been a number of risks that that regard to security and are arising from the changing four dependencies on imports from the common resources to solar renewable resources of Saudi Arabia [4].
The main objectives of carrying out this research are as discussed below;
The greatest importance at Saudi Arabia in the current face of the global change greatly relies on the transition from fuel-based energy production to the energy production that is renewable based [5]. The economy of Saudi Arabia most importantly also needs to reach out because of the energy demands that have already been predicted and that keeps rising. This will enable the country to put into practice the alternative methods for safeguarding more supply of energy.
During the process of preparing for the facilitation of Saudi Arabia’s partnership in energy by the concentrated solar power technology, it becomes important to apply state of the art scientific framework. The main purpose of this is to help projects avoid many famous pitfalls. The facilitation must also include select processes of planning as well as the distribution of profit in a path that is unidirectional [6].
Most importantly, the significance of this research is to enlarge the knowledge base on a social dimension on the main idea which is to create renewable energy in the deserts of Saudi Arabia [6]. Above all, proposals should also be availed by the numerous already established findings that make an input to the code of best practice or set principles that are sustainable towards the individual projects.
Putting into consideration the storage of oil in the country of Saudi Arabia, it was found that the main point of interest was seen to begin at the early 1960s. This origin, therefore, has been adopted as the first solar-powered generation plant for hydrogen. Moving forward to the 1970s, it exhibited the start of the vital efforts of research and development. This was achieved by getting two significant global programs for joint research and development that collaborated both the USA and Germany. A number of programs that include HYSOLAR and SOLERAS have stepped up to be the crucial point of beginning for the concentrated solar power project within Saudi Arabia. A study carried out by Parrado et al pointed out the systematic progress of the renewable energy that has placed the country in the front run by R & D to the use of renewable sources of energy and in this case, the solar energy [7].
A lot of efforts that have been taken by the solar industry of Association of Saudi Arabia as well as other major organizations that include Energy Research Institute (ERI) and BP Solar Arabia limited, all of them having the initiatives from the government, have been intended to upsurge public awareness on changes in climate as well as other issues that are related to the environment. Famous scholars and authors led by Papaelias established this story during the year 2010 in their article the king Abdullah city that was in regard to KACARE or Atomic renewable energy [8]. The main role that they were to perform was in developing both atomic and renewable energy program within the country. They had also been working on how to enhance the atomic and renewable energy programs. The project has still been active with the renewable source of energy.
Oil and oil income has in the recent years been shaped and transformed to some greater degree in the state of Saudi Arabia as well as within the economic and political systems of the country. Two authors by the name Dunham and Iverson deliberates an acknowledgment and a popular acceptance of a common theory referred to as the rentier state theory [9]. The theory can be used to enlighten how the production of oil has developed specific features in a relationship between the society and the state of Saudi. It further designates the social contract under which the nature of Saudi Arabia political system can be used as an example. The theory can be used to foresee how the rent from oil is used by the Saudi Arabian state in order to buy off people. Individuals or organizations or even companies can be bought off in order to prevent them from becoming threats to the state or even from making unsupportive remarks about the state or even leaking some vital information to the public that may reflect the state in a negative way. This, therefore, describes why the Saudi government should have political stability as well as acquiescence against the distribution of the rents for oil [10].
It is clearly evident that the adoption of concentrated solar power energy has greatly attracted a panacea-like package solution. This, therefore, provides a potential resolution to development, climate problems and water energy all at a glance with a market set up precondition. To begin with, Fornarelli et al make an argument that is based on climate change [11]. The researchers point out that considering the future supply of energy, security still remains to be considered as the main advantage that results from the fact that the system can at times remain unchanged. The reason behind this is that the concentrated solar power has always been delivering energy supply that can be dispatched. Same to the traditional power stations, concentrated solar power is also able to supply base load or balancing power [12]. Both the power systems have been using sunshine directly during the day whereas, during the night, they have been utilizing storage facilities for thermal energy during the night. In cases where there is a region that witnesses more and extended durations without sunshine, the use of fossil fuel or the use of biomass can be described as an alternative or backup for the source of heat.
In the present, one of the major technologies that have been adopted for the production of electricity is the concentrating solar power systems. Within the concentrated solar power systems, the parabolic trough system is the main system is largely used. The parabolic trough systems concentrate the energy from the sun by use of long mirrors which are cylindrical in shape and have a cross-section that is parabolic. Besides the trough systems, another that is commonly used is the tower systems. This is a system of solar power that uses a large field of several flat mirrors in order to concentrate the solar direct radiation into a receiver that is located at the top of the tower. Other systems that are also being considered for use are the linear reflectors and the parabolic dishes [13]. Ricardo and Jose discuss all these technologies in the chapters of their publishing. They also discuss how grid parity has always been analyzed as well as how it is expected to be arrived at soon enough for the regions that have strong solar direct irradiation. The authors also point out how important it is to emphasize how the thermal storage and also the hybridization of natural gas can be added. This will practically do away with the power intermittencies related to other technologies that are renewable [14].
For this ongoing case study of storage of energy in concentrated solar power, an elaborative study has to be carried out which will conduct field study as well as the qualitative interview. Several employees within the solar industry association sector in Saudi Arabia, (SASIA) were the main respondents during this research [15]. They are to be approached and asked several questions in relation to the topic of study. The employees should be questioned together with several other famous individuals in the country of Saudi Arabia. It should also be considered that majority of the countries located in the gulf regions, including Saudi Arabia have always been on the forefront in presenting a challenge to the environment for the external researchers who have been carrying out studies on several government policies. Also worth noting is that these researchers have also been carrying out studies in a bid to seek access to several politicians and high profile practitioners. This research can also be compared to other previous research that has already been carried out also on the concentrated solar power systems. From the comparisons, it is evident that the well-connected and more senior researchers have always been faced with a lot of challenges in the process of acquiring information and access to the individuals relevant to the research that they intend to perform interviews for [16].
The main concern that arose during the study was the always changing political situations. The political conditions of Saudi Arabia have always been changing from time with at some points becoming very unfavorable for any kind of study to be carried out successfully [17]. The worsening political situations make it almost impossible to approach several high profile interviewees as well prominent politicians. Besides the worsening political conditions, issues related to political climates such as nepotism, favoritism, and elitism could also be a determinant to whether the research will be carried out successfully or not [18]. Showing any kind of favor based on family relationships may be a hindrance to the required data collection during the study. Eliciting any form of favor towards any group by either the researchers or the interviewees may lead to the collection of unrealistic data which may, in turn, lead to unrealistic results. The lack of required expertise from Saudi Arabia’s institutional set up while focusing on the solar power plant and the deployment and assessment as well the procedural forthcoming has resulted to over-dependence on the foreign aid and their expertise in carrying out these types of studies.
Another limitation that results from this study is the fact that the research does not talk about the aspects that include low energy density, intermittency the little energy density as well as the expenses of concentrated solar power (CSP) in relation to photovoltaic(PV). Given that concentrated solar power projects are arguably new in the country, it is a bit difficult to present a worthy competition against all the other sources of energy like the cheaper and widely used natural gas [19]. This kind of research also does not put into consideration the possible effects of pollution that may be caused by the process of manufacturing. It also does not consider the location dependency factor of the concentrated solar power project. It is also important for the research to include the idea that the concentrated solar power project has been considered somehow unattractive for a good majority of the citizens of Saudi Arabia. An important factor that could lead to achieving better results from the concentrated solar power project is based on the known distances of transmission as well as the losses resulting from transmission [20].
The overall structure of this study should be based on the foundation for renewable energy in the country of Saudi Arabia. This research was purposefully based on these factors;
This is the main factor for consideration when carrying out the research. The study should be based on determining the energy demands for the natives of Saudi Arabia [21]. A number of ideas that should be put forward during the study should include the following;
The research should also put into consideration a number of previous studies that have already been carried in the field of renewable energy developments in Saudi Arabia. It should also be able to make comparisons on what this research is intended to achieve with the previous studies and what they achieved [23]. A number of considerations that could be made are as follows;
The study should also look into the current regime factors and how they can influence the outcome of the study. The types of regimes that can be looked into may include the following-; technological regime, socio-cultural regime as well as the market and user regime.
Also worth considering are the policies that have been put in place that gives guidance to studies that are carried out within the country. The policies may be related to different departments within the country [24]. The policies may be in the following regimes-; regional-level governance and transregional structures, science regime which may include R&D and industry structures, strategies for technology strategies, and also the factors for niche level.
There is a proposed timeline for the general implementation of the study which must originally govern when the project must start and when it must be completed. Estimation of the exact stages of the study and the piloting must be determined. After that is completed, enough time is required to sort out how to carry out the interviews. After that, proper analysis of if the timetable set for the research is realistic or not as well as determining any influence that may result from the deadlines and the restraints [25].
This research project came to the following probable findings.
How the parabolic trough and Fresnel concentrators are commercially exploited.
There are a number of concentrated solar power systems that are commonly used in the solar industry [28]. The CSP systems include the following;
From the study, it was realized that the most commonly used type of systems is the parabolic trough and the concentrating linear Fresnel reflector systems [30].
A parabolic trough is a system that concentrates sunlight into a receiver tube that a working liquid that often runs along the focal point of the reflector [31]. The working liquids are usually made of molten salts. The fluid is then heated to a temperature that ranges from 150 °C to 380 °C. The fluid is then used to drive a generator and a heat engine which will, in turn, produce electricity . This system for generating electricity from solar power is the most commonly used system that has been adopted by several projects within the country o Saudi Arabia [32].
Concentrating linear Fresnel reflector systems (CLFR) adopts the use of multiple mirrors that are flat in shape in order to concentrate light from the solar sunlight onto the receiver tube. The liquid fluid runs through the heated tube and is used to boil water and thus drive a steam turbine. This will, in turn, the generator to produce electricity [33]. In order to reap maximum performance from the concentrating linear Fresnel reflector system, there are a number of designs that should be optimized. To start with, the transfer of heat between the absorber and the thermal fluid has to be maximized. Achieving this will depend on the surface of the steam tubes that were selected. A selective surface will optimize the ratio of absprbed energy that is emitted. Next, the absorber shpuld also be designed such that the distribution of temperature across the selective surface is unchanging. This is because temperature distributions that are not uniform always result to accelerated degradation of the surface. To achieve uniform distribution, it is important to change the absorber parameters.
These are the commonly used systems in the generation of electricity because they are cost-effective and easily adoptable as compared to other systems.
The importance of cheaper manufacturing methods for structures and mirrors
All around the country of Saudi Arabia, it is a common practice by all investors and clients who are willing to undertake a project on solar power systems to adopt the use of cheaper methods manufacture for the structure and mirrors [34]. Besides achieving the main goal of the project, the whole idea will be easy to carry out at a reduced cost as compared to using relatively expensive methods for manufacturing. The mirrors are useful in concentrating solar light rays into the receiver tubes
Concentrating solar power (CSP) plants are considered to be capital intensive. In most cases, they have almost zero costs of fuel. Interestingly enough, the costs of operation and maintenance have always proved to be relatively higher for the CSP plants, though the opportunities for reduction of costs are available since the designs of the plants are of near perfect techniques and also the experience that is gained from handling and operating huge numbers of CSP plants will rise. The solar towers are more likely to become the most common technology of choice in the coming days [35]. This is because the plants are able to attain very high ranges of temperature that have little losses that are manageable when molten salts are used as the heat transfer fluid. That will allow for higher temperatures of operation and the steam cycle efficiency. This will in turn reduce the cost of thermal energy.
Conclusion
As a result of the massive number of technologies that keep evolving over time, the country of Saudi Arabia has witnessed developments of several projects that are aimed at securing the future of energy production. From this research, we realize that one of the sectors that have received a major boost is in the solar industry. The government of Saudi Arabia has been on the frontline in making a number of implementations in facilitating the concentrated solar power programs. These implementations have led to the creation of very viable and global concentrated solar power systems. This is because there is an impressive number of pipeline that in turn promotes `more investments and thus make technology very viable and looking at the cost perspectives, it is important in bringing down the cost [36].
From the research findings, it was realized that one of the challenges faced by the country is that when considering history and how it has been the norm in the previous years, many Saudi banks that have funded the large energy projects have always relied on the government who ends up taking the larger equity stake which in most cases surpasses fifty percent of the project [37]. In any case, the government fails to take up the larger stake, the banks will be forced to take the task of providing the finance which will be on a true non-recourse basis meaning they will have no equity holder whom they can depend on to rescue the project in any case anything misfortune occurs. This means that there will be no more finance being pumped to sort out the project [38]. The banks are therefore completely dependent on the project performance and outcomes. It is therefore important for the government and the banks to make careful considerations in financing these projects as well as their maintenance so that such valuable projects do not end up failing [39].
In the Saudi Arabian desert, the ownership of projects has always proved to be a little bit difficult because they apply unregistered land system. It is, therefore, a recommendation for those who really want such kind of projects to succeed that they should make good partnerships with the real estate companies that have owned the lands for quite a while so that they can establish real ownership of the lands. Once they have achieved real ownership of the land, it therefore makes it easy to proceed with the project without unnecessary disruptions and legal battles [40].
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