Assessment of rooftop PV potential to meet residential loads in the city of Neom, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The economic and social development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has led to a rapid increase in the consumption of electricity, with the residential sector consuming approximately 50% of total electricity production. KSA depends on non-renewable energy resources as its main source of power, so energy sustainability and air pollution are critical issues. Saudi Vision 2030 is a plan by the government to lessen the country’s reliance on non-renewable energy and reduce those problems associated with the use of fossil fuels. Saudi Vision 2030 focuses on renewable energy to produce electricity and couples this with implementation of new buildings in, for example, the planned city of “Neom” that are designed to be net zero energy. This study addresses how Neom can be less reliant on the national grid by assessing the potential of rooftop photovoltaic generation for residential buildings. The study develops a techno-economic model of rooftop PV with battery storage that is suitable for three types of residential buildings; villas, traditional houses and apartments, in Neom city to identify the optimal rooftop PV size, battery storage capacity and optimal orientation of rooftop PV panels to generate maximum electricity. This study is based on electrical load profile data provided by Saudi Electricity Company and ambient temperature for Neom city provided by the General Authority for Meteorology and Environmental Protection. Lastly, the study used HOMER Pro to compute the Net Present Cost, Levelized Cost of Energy, and optimum orientation of PV panels and an optimum PV system size.