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Monday, June 22, 2015

Why the Saudis Are Going Solar

The fate of one of the biggest fossil-fuel producers may now depend on its investne

PRince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammad Al Saud belongs to the family that rules Saudi Arabia. He wears a white thawb and ghutra, the traditional robe and headdress of Arab men, and he has a cavernous office hung with portraits of three Saudi royals. When I visited him in Riyadh this spring, a waiter poured tea and subordinates took notes as Turki spoke. Everything about the man seemed to suggest Western notions of a complacent functionary in a complacent, oil-rich kingdom.

But Turki doesn’t fit the stereotype, and neither does his country. Quietly, the prince is helping Saudi Arabia—the quintessential petrostate—prepare to make what could be one of the world’s biggest investments in solar power.

MoreMorteenergy.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Um, that's towel not thawb.

Anonymous said...

Gee, you mean desert nations could benefit by using solar? Wow!

Anonymous said...

I didn't think there were any trees there.

Anonymous said...

Palm trees on the coast and at the wadis.