The Potential of Solar Energy in Saudi Arabia: The Residential Sector

Abstract

Saudi Arabia is considered one of the largest oil consumer countries. The country's contribution to global warming is continuously growing; local consumption of electrical energy is high and the demand is rapidly increasing. Based on the Kingdom's current energy status and its future plans, solar energy is shown as an attractive alternative, ample, reliable and clean resource for sustainable development. This study, review and investigates the potential of implementing solar energy into the Saudi residential sector by optimizing the integration of PV technology into buildings. The study field is confined to the typical Saudi house. Different BIPV placement methods were proposed and investigated through varied cases. Every case was parametrically tested solo in site so its highest energy potential could be measured first, creating a comparative baseline for its potential within the neighborhood-tested scenarios. The resulting impact was measured and analyzed through the measures of energy generation and consumption.