Saudi Arabia, Softbank to Create World’s Largest Solar Power Project

The projects are expected to create an estimated 100,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia and boost Saudi Arabia’s GDP by an estimated $40 billion annually.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son to create the world’s largest solar power generation company in Saudi Arabia.

At a press conference in New York, the Crown Prince and the Softbank CEO said they expected the solar project to have the capacity to produce up to 200 gigawatts by 2030.

The project is expected to support the creation of a domestic solar equipment manufacturing industry in the kingdom.

The agreement also states that the two parties are committed to exploring the manufacture and development of solar storage systems in Saudi Arabia, as well as the establishment of specialized companies for research and development of solar panels in commercial quantities that will allow them to be marketed domestically and globally.

This MoU is also complementary to what was previously signed in the Future Investment Initiative last October.

The MoU is based on the commitment of the two parties to the production and distribution of solar panels with a capacity of 200 gigawatts in Saudi Arabia, as well as exploring the opportunities to establish industries in the field of power generation systems and batteries in the kingdom, which will help to support diversification of sectors and create jobs in the field of advanced technologies.

The projects are expected to create an estimated 100,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia and boost Saudi Arabia’s GDP by an estimated $40 billion annually.

Source: Al-Arabiya