Saudi Arabia is talking a big domestic solar power game, but can the sun really compete with the kingdom's world-beating electricity feedstock prices? For now, the answer is probably no, but officials think that could change within a decade. "We want to see renewables take off. But for solar it will depend on Saudi policy, as it is not yet commercially competitive," says Ahmad Khowaiter, interim vice president for economic development at the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust), which is devoting considerable funding and resources to advancing solar economics (WGI Sep.20,p7).
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