SAUDI ARABIA LAUNCHES SOLAR DESALINATION PLANT

UNCLAS RIYADH 000214 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/ESC/IEC (MONOSSON),S/CIEA (GOLDWYN, SULLIVAN),S/SECC (PERSHING, ROCHBERG),SCIENCE ENVOY ZERHOUNI, OES (FERGUSON) DEPT PASS TO DOE FOR JONATHAN ELKIND, JAMES HART E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG KGHG SENV EPET PREL SA SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA LAUNCHES SOLAR DESALINATION PLANT REF: A. 09 RIYADH 1492 ¶B. 09 RIYADH 1557 ¶C. 09 RIYADH 1642 ¶D. RIYADH 184 ¶E. DHAHRAN 18 ¶1. (SBU) King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST, effectively Saudi Arabia's science ministry) announced a three-phase national plan for solar energy-based desalination production in late January. The Kingdom has abundant sun energy exposure on the order of 2,000 kilowatts per square meter, which makes it a valuable alternative to fossil fuel power generation. Several Saudi officials including Petroleum Minister Ali Al-Naimi have emphasized the important role solar energy plays in diversifying the nation's energy portfolio to meet the growing Saudi population's energy demand. A total of nine desalination projects are planned over the next few years at a cost of one billion Saudi riyals ($267 million). The Saudi government's goal is to add 30 gigawatts of generating capacity to its electricity grid by 2010. ¶2. (SBU) The first solar desalination plant reportedly will have a capacity of 30,000 cubic meters and will serve 100,000 people in Al-Khafji, along the Persian Gulf just south of the Kuwaiti border. The plant will have a capacity of 10 megawatts and a reverse osmosis plant that uses existing solar energy technologies. KACST jointly developed the nanoparticle technology to be used in the plant with IBM. The joint nanotechnology research program will seek to develop low-cost water treatment and electricity production -- less than one riyal ($.27) per cubic meter of water compared to the current 2.5 to 5.5 riyal ($.67 to $1.47) cost. KACST Vice President for Research Institutes Dr. Prince Turki Al-Saud said the initiative would reduce the cost of water and electricity production by 40 percent. ¶3. (SBU) A second station, whose location has yet to be decided, will have a capacity ten times greater than the Al-Khafji station, designed to produce 300,000 cubic meters of water per day. Construction of the second station will start after the first station is completed in as little as three years. The projects involve not only KACST, but also the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water and Electricity, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Saline Water Conversion Corporation. SMITH