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King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination with

usage of Concentrated Photovoltaic CPV

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1. Desalinate seawater by solar energy at low cost to contribute to theKingdom’s water security and support the national economy.

2. Applying nanotechnologies developed in the field of Photovoltaic andRO membrane systems.

3. Build advance industries advocated by the Industrial strategy of theKingdom.

4. Design and installation of a high-concentration solar cells with acapacity of 8 megawatts.

5. The cost of energy production not to exceed 30 halalas (8 US Cent)per kilowatt-hour.

6. Link solar station to the Grid.

7. Power the seawater desalination plant by UHCPV.

8. Develop clean energy and protect the environment.

The Initiative's Objectives

Introduction• King Abdullah's initiative for Solar Water Desalination announced in a

press conference early 2010, with launching of the first phase of theinitiative.

King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination3

• Saudi Arabia is considered one of the countries depending mostly onsea water desalination. It produces more than 4 million cubic meters perday, represents more than 18% of global production.

• Power and desalination plants consume around 1.5 million barrels ofoil per day, which has a significant impact on the economy of theKingdom as well as the environmental.

• Water technology is the first priority of the National Plan forScience, Technology and Innovation (NPSTI).

• KACST has more than 30 years of Experience in Solar EnergyResearch.

• Saudi Arabia is one of the best regions of the world in terms of theamount of solar radiation

1977 SolerasProgram.KSA and the USA signed the Solerasprogram agreement to cooperate in the field of Solar Energy.

1986HysolarProgram.KSA and Germany signed the Hysolar MOU for Solar Hydrogen Production and Utilization.

1981Solar Village 350 KW PV.350 kW PVPS. Supplied 1 to 1.5 MWh/ day to three villages

1984Yanbu Solar Desalination Plant. Indirect contact freeze process, 200 m3/day. Average solar energy collected is 2.2 MWh/ day.

1994 12 Solar Radiation monitoring stations.Monitoring total horizontal, direct normal and diffuse radiations.Published KSA Solar Atlas 1998.

Solar R&D at KACST: History and Major Results

1996PV Powered Highway Lighting.Generate ~1.5 MWh/day to light two remote tunnels: 240 m, and 546 m, (AseerRegion).

1996PV Green House Application.14.4 kWp PV system and battery storage system to test the use of a stand-alone PV system to power a greenhouse.

2000Solar Panels for Saudisat 1-a.Solar panels to generate power for the satellite were designed and built by KACST’s Saudi engineers and technicians utilizing KACST’s long experience of at the Solar Village

2010

King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination

Solar R&D at KACST: History and Major Results

1994 SadoosPV Water pumping and Desalination.To test PV systems for remote area applications. Produced 15000 liters/day.10.08 kWp PV for RO980 Wp for pumping

Early CPV Systems in Saudi

• Collaboration between KACST and Martin Marietta to deploy the world’s first CPV systems in the Solar Village of Riyadh

• 33X on mono c-Si cells• PMMA lens

Introduction to CPV

Concentrate sunlight onto a small area with higher efficiency

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http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/images/efficiency_chart.jpg

A key ingredient for CPV system cost reduction is the continuous increase in MJ cell efficiency, as demonstrated by champion cells

PV Technologies World-Record Efficiencies

CPV: Path for Lowest LCOE in Sunny, Dry Climates

Source: Independent research by GTM, 2011

The Energy Demand in KSA

• Substantial growth in generation capacity is driven by population growth, and infrastructure development

• Building additional fossil plants requires both capital AND will drive consumption of oil resources

• Recognizing the challenge, Saudi Arabia established KA-CARE (King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy) in May 2010 to work with KACST and other key players in KSA to identify energy solutions

• CPV is expected to play an important role. Mix could change depending on economics, local manufacturing, job creation, etc.

~ 80GW additional capacity needs to be brought up over the next 20 years

King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination

Global Solar Radiation

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King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination

The Initiative's Technologies

Joint Research Cooperation between KACST and IBM

through the “Center of Excellence for Nanotechnology”

has developed many technologies in the field of Solar Energy

and RO Membranes.

Ultra High Concentrator Photovoltaic (UHCPV).

Desalination Membrane Module Development (DMMD).

KACST - IBM Cooperation

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10 MW PV module assembly line at the Solar Village1000 modules/monthDevelopment &QualificationPV modules forHigh UV / Tempdesert usage

10 MW PV Module

ManufacturingPlant

KACST Solar Projects

Ultra HighCPV

UHCPV Joint IBM developmentCommercial prototype

-1600 suns-High Efficiency

-Low CostFirst Module (Solar

Village)~ $ 5.5 / Watt (2010)

Second Module(Solar Village)

~ $ 2.00 / Watt (2011)

Several patents were obtained and some are underpatency disclosure process. These patents include:

1. Immersion solar concentrator system.

2. Alignment System for High Performance Solar Concentrators.

3. Hybrid Metal Thermal Interface.

4. Cooling System for High Power Solar Concentrators.

5. Interposer connector for solar concentrators.

6. Tracking system for solar concentrators.

PATENTS FOR THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES:UHCPV Patents

Implementation Phases of the Initiative

Phase I:Construction of a solar-powered desalination plant at Al-Khafji (30,000 m3/day).

Phase II:Construction of a solar-powered desalination plant. (300,000 m3/day).

Phase III:Apply the initiative throughout the Kingdom.

Phase IV:Apply the initiative to Agriculture (0.5 Riyal/m³)

The Initiative will be implemented in four phases:

King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination15

Saudi Locations

• Riyadh’s Solar Village: average DNI, dust storms, desert type weather with extreme hot temperature in the summer and cold temperatures in winter (incluindg occasional hails)

• Khafji: low DNI, high humidity and proximity to salted water

DNI map of KSA

Al-Khafji Solar Desalination Plant (2010 - 2013)

Building a desalination plant with a capacity of

30,000m3/day to meet the needs of one hundred

thousand dweller of Al-Khafji City (Arabian Gulf)

and construction of a solar energy station with a

capacity of 10 Megawatts.

King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination17

First prototype tracker

Installated of First 10 Kw Tracker in Al-Khafji

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10 Megawatt Solar Farm 1000 trackers81 Modules per tracker 130 watts each module

King Abdullah Initiative for Solar Water Desalination

Operation in September 2012

• String efficiency demonstrated 28-30%

• System AC efficiency demonstrated up to 28%

SV Sept 23 2012

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Conclusions & Next Steps

• An ultra-high CPV system has been developed and deployed as a joint project between IBM Yorktown and KACST

• 1600X concentrated on MJ solar cells using acrylic lens and secondary optics to increase acceptance angle and allow for lower tolerances on components and assembly

• 3 systems have been deployed at 2 different locations in KSA, showing stable performance over a period of 1 year

• Next steps involve optimizing performance through reducing cell size, increasing the optical efficiency, and deploying systems in high DNI areas within KSA

Thank you

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