Energy and exergy use in the utility sector of Saudi Arabia Original Research Article

We present an analysis of energy and exergy utilization in the utility sector of Saudi Arabia by considering the sectoral energy and exergy flows for the years 1990-2001. Energy and exergy analyses were conducted for its two subsectors, namely power-only plants and power/distillation plants, and hence the energy and exergy efficiencies were obtained for comparison. The power/distillation plant subsector appeared to be more energy/exergy efficient compared to the conventional power-only plant subsector for the particular reference conditions assumed in the analysis. A comparison of the overall energy and exergy efficiencies of Saudi Arabian utility sector with the Turkish utility sector is also presented for the year 1993. Although the sectoral coverage is different for each country, it is useful to illustrate the situation of how energy and exergy efficiencies vary. The turkish utility sector appeared to be more efficient for that particular year. Power/distillation makes a significant contribution to Saudi Arabiaʹs overall power generation in the utility sector.