SoftBank, S Arabia in $200-bn deal to build world’s largest solar project
28 Mar 2018
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Saudi Arabia and SoftBank Group Corp have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build the world's largest solar project, worth $200 billion, in the kingdom that could generate 200 gigawatts of power by 2030.
The deal was signed in New York, in the presence of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is on a visit to the United States.The solar power plant, which would be the largest in the world, will produce 200 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power 140 million homes — according to reports.
The project will be part of the SoftBank Vision Fund, which was set up in 2016, and has invested in many projects in the US, India and Europe.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said the project will help Saudi Arabia to get rid of its dependence on oil for electricity and create 100,000 job opportunities, while saving $40 billion in power bills, a Bloomberg report said.
The Crown Prince who is on a mission to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy, said, "It's a great step and is bold, risky. We have great sunshine, land and great engineers and labour."
The overall project cost will be around $200 billion. In the first phase the project aims to generate 7.2 gigawatts of power at an investment of about $5 billion. SoftBank's Vision Fund will invest $1 billion in the first phase.
Son said revenue earned from sale of electricity produced in the first phase will be ploughed back to the forthcoming stages.
The solar panels will be initially imported. Later, a factory unit is being planned in the kingdom to manufacture the panels locally.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have been experimenting with ways to cut their energy bills, pollution and also find ways to generate non-oil revenues.
The Kingdom has set a target of 9.5 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2023.
Saudi's current installed power capacity is around 60 GW. The addition of 200 GW would create enormous excess capacity that could be exported to neighbours or used by industry.
The kingdom would also require other forms of power generation for night-time back-up.
