Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son to create the world's biggest solar power project in Saudi Arabia.
The project aims to generate 200 gigawatts by 2030 from various solar farms all over the country, with a first phase of 7.2 gigawatts.
It is expected to support the creation of a domestic solar equipment manufacturing industry in the kingdom.
The MoU, which is complementary to what was previously signed in the Future Investment Initiative last October, indicates that feasibility studies between the two parties on the project will be completed by May 2018.
The project will help fuel energy production in Saudi Arabia, which will boost the kingdom’s role in supplying the world's oil-reliant markets, especially as demand for oil is steadily increasing. It is also expected to contribute to the creation of an estimated 100,000 jobs in the Kingdom.
