MATURING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY FOR SAUDI ARABIA

The Middle East region has rapidly developing societies with some of the highest per capita power consumption in the world. However, to date there are few contributions from renewable energy sources. Yet, clean energy, water and new technologies are needed for a growing modern society to create jobs for a self-reliant economy and develop services and goods for export. Ambitious goals have been set by governments to tap into the exceptional potential for renewables the region offers. In this context, large solar and wind farm projects are planned and under execution. Whole cities are under development and planned to rely 100% on renewable energy. Outlined in the countries Vision 2030 and in balance with the environment, innovative, scalable exportable technologies must be developed to meet these challenges. Our challenges: Can geothermal energy be matured economically to provide a substantial contribution to the future energy supply? Can life-sustaining water desalination and air-conditioning be run by geothermal power? Can geothermal help to lower our environmental footprint? Is geothermal power a sleeping giant among renewable power sources? Over one hundred professionals came together for conference to address these questions and pave the way for geothermal energy towards practical solutions.