When completed, the Al Midra project will provide all of the daytime power required by the buildings in this mixed-use complex.

 

The city of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia was the site of the nation’s first commercial oil field, which began producing oil in 1938. Now, decades later, the region seeks to tap another major resource: the sun. Dhahran can average as high as 7.96 kWh/m2 per day of insolation during peak periods, making it one of the sunniest places on Earth.

 

The Al Midra project takes advantage of this abundance of sun, and will provide 10 megawatts of power to the complex of buildings that include, among other facilities, research labs attached to Saudi Aramco. When completed, it will be one of the largest PV parking lots in the world, with each of the 4,450 parking spaces covered with an awning of Solar Frontier’s CIS modules.

 

The move to solar energy will enable the Saudi government to divert more of its refined petroleum to export markets rather than local consumption, which will provide additonal revenue for the nation. And, as the country looks down the road to an eventual decline in oil production levels, investments in renewable energies like solar power will enable prosperity for decades to come.