Energy in the Gulf: With so much oil and gas, why bother with the sun? | beyondbrics | FT.com

At face value, building vast solar energy parks in the Arab Gulf seems like a slam-dunk. The region enjoys year-round sunshine, and temperatures routinely creep above 50 degrees centigrade during the scorching summer.

This may be excruciating for the Gulf’s inhabitants, but for solar power it is a boon. According to a report by Saudi investment bank NCB Capital - citing a study by Franz Trieb of the German Aerospace Centre - Arabia’s large desert regions annually receive the average solar energy equivalent to 1.5m barrels of oil per sq km.

But despite the region’s obvious advantages, does costly solar power make sense for Gulf states that have become used to cheap, subsidised electricity but need a lot more to power their ambitious projects?