Promoting sustainable resources energy to produce water in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages The environmental damage is making the process more expensive hence the need for sustainable methods of water production. The country should thus shift their operations to sustainable desalination systems that can support the ever-increasing demand for water resources. Energy demands in Saudi Arabia From all the available sources, the current capacity of producing energy in Saudi Arabia is about 50,000MW and this keeps on growing with 3,000MW annually (Oil and Gas Report, 2013). This annual growth is relatively bigger when compared to other countries in the gulf region. The government of Saudi Arabia invests about 1,125 billion dollars to cater for the energy needs between now and 2018. In the year 2009 alone, the country used about 100 million barrels of oil to produce energy and this implies that they consume one quarter of all their oil in domestic uses. The demand for electricity demand in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase by 70,000MW in the next twenty years, and at this rate only sustainable energy resources can be trusted to drive the country’s growth and demands (Saudi Arabia Country Profile, 2013). The economy of the country is highly dependent on oil exports and if the local consumption is not substituted with other sustainable energy demands, their economic growth may be adversely affected in future. Water desalination heavily relies on the use of fossil fuel energy and with this rate of increased demand; their ability to export oil and earn revenues will be greatly jeopardized. The increased rate of fossil fuel energy production is not a sign of economic development but a sign of inefficient use of energy. Water uses in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia produces 24 million cubic meters of water per day and this represents about a half of the world-desalinated water in the word. Currently the country is building the world largest solar powered desalination facility to supplement the fossil fuel desalination. The country cannot rely on its oil reserves since they have already used about 70% of their oil natural reserves and therefore are at risk of losing their water supply. The demand of water increases by about 8% of the water reserves and this number is expected to double in the next few yeas meaning the country have to expand their water supply (Energy Industry Report, 2009). Most of the water uses in Saudi Arabia goes to domestic industrial and agricultural use in wheat production but the country is currently reducing their agricultural activities since they prefer importing to producing due to cost effectiveness. Since the country is slowly phasing out wheat production, the paradox is that most of the farmers are turning to fodder crops that require more than ten times the amount of water used to produce wheat. This means that the country will still need more water for other small-scale agricultural production (Monads & Rehman, 2013). Benefits of large-scale sustainable sources of energy in Saudi Arabia If the country fully implements the use of sustainable sources of energy, it will help her diversify the use of energy for security purposes. The use of sustainable sources of energy would lead to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, effluents and other wastes that have a negative impact to the environment. The use of susta ...Download file to see next pagesRead More