Authors
Amro M Elshurafa, Hatem Alatawi, Fakhri J Hasanov, Goblan J Algahtani, Frank A Felder
Publication date
2022/9/1
Journal
Energy Policy
Volume
168
Pages
113090
Publisher
Elsevier
Description
The Saudi agricultural sector relies on diesel for irrigation that is provided to farmers at a price much lower than the average global price, implying significant opportunity costs. By soft-coupling power and macroeconometric models, we assessed cost and economic (macro and sectoral) implications of electrifying irrigation activities in the Saudi agricultural sector via three scenarios: electrifying each individual farm with a dedicated hybrid renewable micro-grid, electrifying the entire farm cluster with central generation, and connecting the entire cluster to the national grid. Compared with the base-case, connecting the farm cluster to the national grid was the most economic but least environmentally friendly. The renewable and central generation scenarios were costlier due to high battery costs and gas infrastructure needed, respectively. Further, the financial viability of the renewable microgrid option depends on the …
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