Solar Power Generation in Off-grid Areas of Saudi Arabia

The solar resource in Saudi Arabia is virtually unlimited and the falling cost of
solar photovoltaic modules globally, serves as major drivers in the
deployment of solar power generation. Solar PV energy deployment can be
done through stand-alone system, hybrid system, grid tied and distributed
generation. Considering necessary regulatory frameworks are established,
there are issues to be considered before embarking into solar power
generation in off-grid or isolated areas (e.g policy, technical, operations,
commerciality, contract framework). For example, from a policy perspective,
the simple approach in choosing a generation technology might be based
alone on lowest overall levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) neglecting other
relative benefits of solar. On the technology complexities, solar photovoltaic
(PV) system and concentrating solar power (CSP), as way of solar power
generation1 both utilized suns energy but CSP cannot be just put anywhere
unlike the PV system because CSP requires accessed to water as receiver of
the heat energy and a very high irradiation level. In terms of grid connected
solar generation, variability and intermittency are the major consideration of
deployment, which could be mitigated through flexibility of resources. In
terms of commerciality, one must decide on methodologies for setting the
overall return that the project developer will receive, whether by fixed-price
or premium-price2. Lastly, contract framework requires specific manpower
not only Technical Advisor but also Legal Advisor to enable proper evaluation

1 Solar PV directly converts solar energy into electricity using PV modules, a cell
made of a semiconductor material that converts sunlight to electricity while CSP
system uses devices that concentrates energy from the suns rays to transformed
heat first into mechanical energy (by turbines or other engines) and then into
electricity solar thermal electricity (STE)
2 Fixed-price is a Feed-in Tariff (FIT) payment structure where total payment is
independent with the market price and is a pre-determined payment for a
guaranteed period while Premium-price offered payment as a premium on top of the
spot market price.

of contract scope, budget, schedules, terms and conditions, warranties and

payment schedule.
It is very well known now the advantages of solar power generation, one of
which is fossil fuel conservation being used for power generation. Solar
resource and large space occupied by solar PV is not an issue in Saudi
Arabia. However, PV systems works effectively as energy source when it is
connected to utility power grid, basically sending all power generated to the
grid. But if PV systems will be installed in isolated or off-grid areas,
continuous power from solar is not guaranteed. Cloud shading, night time
and dust accumulation in solar panels are the most common reasons of this
non- continuous power supply. This problem can be overcome but it is
dependent on the growth of another related industry, that of energy storage.
In larger system, energy storage component is often replaced by dynamically
controlled generator driven by a fuel engine. Hybridization of Solar power
plants with diesel generator are common in off-grid areas to achieve
continuous supply of power especially during evening as in the case of
Philippines.
For utility-scale solar plants, issues related to grid interconnection is
apparent. Solar power plants needs to provide some level of voltage and
frequency ride-through or spinning reserve to prevent power disturbances
from adversely affecting the grid. Voltage and frequency disturbances must
be identified through dynamic or transient performance analysis to
determine if such disturbances from the point of interconnection is coming
from the plant or being imposed by the grid (Facchini, 2012). Voltage events
are more understood today than ever before, and the resources to deal with
them are applied to solar through inverters, which are becoming smarter and
some vendors have incorporated some of the controls required for this
support. Numerous problems and unusual configurations have been detected
in some PV plants connections: Some problems are due to a dysfunction of
the faulted-phase relay protection on Substations not originated in all cases

by phase imbalance of the PV inverters, other problems are related to an

abnormal stationary (resonant) state of generation just after islanding of the
plant, where frequency and amplitude of the power signal are in a corrupted
stable state caused by the inverters (dela Cruz & Gomez, 2010) .
Another approach for solar PV generation is distributed generation through
solar rooftop which could be connected to low voltage networks. Basically,
every house has its own power generation installed in their rooftops where
they could use during morning and even send power to the grid during
excess power generation and also receive power from the grid during night
time. Standards, procedures and tariff system is necessary to be established
first as in the case of solar rooftop in the Philippines.
In summary, accelerated deployment of solar PV energy is achievable
nowadays with the advent of smart solar inverters that has the controls and
capabilities to improve power quality issues. Continuous electricity supply is
guaranteed with solar PV systems coupled with energy storage or diesel
engine, depending on the scale of the system. With the oil reserves and solar
resource of Saudi Arabia, Hybrid Solar PV-diesel generator system is
favorable for continuous supply of electricity in off-grid areas.