Prince Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Saud, Vice President for the Research Institutes Office at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), will deliver a policy address on the application of solar energy in developing water desalination as a strategic choice for the Kingdom at the First Saudi Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition to be convened on February 19, at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. Prince Turki is expected to outline the development plan in increasing the output of water desalination plants in the Kingdom by using solar energy. KACST is currently building what will be the world's largest solar-powered desalination plant in the city of Al-Khafji, near the border with Kuwait, using concentrated solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and new water-filtration technology developed by the KACST/IBM Joint Center for Nanotechnology Research. The Al-Khafji solar-powered desalination plant, expected to be completed by the end of this year, will produce 30,000 cubic meters of desalinated water per day to meet the needs of some 100,000 people. KACST will also build another desalination plant using solar energy with a production capacity of 300,000 cubic meters per day at a site now being determined. More water desalination plants using solar energy in various locations in the Kingdom will be constructed within the next 10 years, according to the KACST water desalination development plan using solar energy. Two other major keynote speakers will address the opening of the conference. Dr. Khalid Al-Sulaiman, Vice President for Renewable Energy at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), will speak on the significance of renewable energy for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in addressing the country's human and natural resources development. Dr. Abdullah M. Al-Shehri, Governor of the Electricity and Co-Generation Regulatory Authority, will focus his speech on policy issues regarding regulations requirements for implementing renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia. Hamed Al-Saggaf, SEC Manager of the Transmission Regulation Department, will discuss the company as an enabler of solar projects. Speakers from the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and Saudi Aramco, two large national corporations now focused on using solar energy, will also deliver keynote addresses. Faisal A. Habiballah, Saudi Aramco coordinator of renewable energy technologies, will speak on the challenges and opportunities in implementing renewable energies in the Kingdom. __
