Saudi Arabia signed deals to buy electricity from two large-scale wind farms that are cheaper than natural gas plants, as it aims to rapidly transition to a bigger share of renewables in the power grid.
The abrasive properties of sand would apply to all machinery (including oil pumps) but today, we seem to have no problem installing tons of oil pumps in the middle of the desert.
Then, abrasive effects are strongest on moving parts (such as wind mills and oil pumps) but not so strong on solid state devices (such as computer chips or solar panels). Therefore, I don’t expect that to be much of a problem.
Occasional shade from sand storms are maybe ~5% losses per year, which is not much. In exchange, the rest of the time, the sky is cloudless.
I disagree.
The abrasive properties of sand would apply to all machinery (including oil pumps) but today, we seem to have no problem installing tons of oil pumps in the middle of the desert.
Then, abrasive effects are strongest on moving parts (such as wind mills and oil pumps) but not so strong on solid state devices (such as computer chips or solar panels). Therefore, I don’t expect that to be much of a problem.
Occasional shade from sand storms are maybe ~5% losses per year, which is not much. In exchange, the rest of the time, the sky is cloudless.
Solar panels can work at 60-70°C easily.