
Saudi Arabia Shelves Work on SoftBank’s $200B Solar Project - yazr
https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-shelves-work-on-softbanks-200-billion-solar-project-1538328820
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yazr
[http://archive.is/wLsRa](http://archive.is/wLsRa)

> An alternative plan is to be announced in late October 18.

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olivermarks
'...the officials and the adviser said the Saudi kingdom is working up a
broader, more practical strategy to boost renewable energy, to be announced in
late October around the time of an investment conference in Riyadh. The
announcement will help clarify the kingdom’s renewable energy goals, a Saudi
official said'.

SA/MBS & Softbank are making some big bets and are being pretty agile about it
IMO, this isn't another big project that's out of date by the time they get
going on it...

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wrong_variable
Its a wise move considering solar might get much cheaper by 2030.

At this point though the main expense is not the panels but the more complex
task of logistics, operational, etc.

It could also generate a lot of jobs for Saudi citizens but I do not think the
average Saudi would be interested doing the job of installing solar panels.

Solar is a really good bet for the Saudis, they just need to execute it well.

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roryisok
Why 2030 specifically and why di you think Saudis don't want jobs installing
solar panels?

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dahdum
Over 2/3rds of Saudi nationals are employed by the government in relative
cushy jobs. Manual labor is done by foreigners.

Same reason as the US and farm workers, natives don’t want to do it.

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onetimemanytime
">> _Same reason as the US and farm workers, natives don’t want to do it. "_

$30 an hour and I'd do it. Immigrants do it because the cost of living in
_their_ country is like 10 times less than in USA. They sacrifice for x years,
almost live off the grid here until they build a house, open a business and
stay in their country.

