• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026

2

Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026

3

Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup

1

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026

2

Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026

3

Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup

Plans for the World’s Biggest-Ever Solar Power Project Are Underway. Here’s What You Need to Know.

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 28, 2018, 8:09 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The world’s biggest solar project is going to get underway in Saudi Arabia, according a plan whipped up by the country’s sovereign wealth fund and the Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank.

The partners are joint investors in the $100 billion Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, which will provide the initial cash for the first phase of the scheme.

Here’s what you need to know about the project.

How big is “biggest”?

SoftBank and the Saudis say the solar project will be able to generate around 7.2 gigawatts of power in 2019, and 200 gigawatts by 2030.

Today, all the solar deployments around the world generate around 400 gigawatts (which is slightly more than is generated by nuclear, incidentally.) The largest installation at the moment, the Tengger Desert Solar Park in China, generates just over 1.5 gigawatts. So yes, this is a big deal.

How does Saudi Arabia generate power today?

Mostly by burning oil, unsurprisingly. Because domestic petroleum is so heavily subsidized, around 60% of the kingdom’s electricity comes from it. But because consumption is rising, that has implications for the amount of oil Saudi Arabia has left to sell abroad. So there’s a big economic angle to this.

Saudi Arabia is also a signatory to the Paris Agreement on climate change, but it has not been clear as to how it intends to achieve its carbon emissions reduction targets. It’s a bit clearer now. And that doesn’t just matter for the global pact—the country is also particularly sensitive to climate change.

How much will this cost?

According to SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son, the first phase will cost $5 billion. The Vision Fund will stump up $1 billion for that, while the rest of the financing will come from debt.

By the time the project is completed, it will have cost an estimated $200 billion. That includes the cost of labor, panels—which will be imported until local production capacity is up to speed—and an unprecedented network of batteries that will be able to store this energy for measured distribution over the Saudi grid.

“The project will fund its own expansion,” said Son, who explained that the profits generated in each step of the build-out would help fund the next phase.

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

‘Making China the elephant in the room’: The G7 confronts its reliance on U.S. AI and Chinese energy supply chains, experts say
EuropeAnthropic
‘Making China the elephant in the room’: The G7 confronts its reliance on U.S. AI and Chinese energy supply chains, experts say
By Mia OsmonbekovJune 16, 2026
50 minutes ago
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
EconomyFederal Reserve
Trump turned the dollar into a foreign policy tool, and now risks undermining the currency’s extraordinary status, think tank says
By Tristan BoveJune 16, 2026
2 hours ago
butter
RetailFashion
Welcome to the summer of ‘Butter Yellow,’ the shade of consumer anxiety
By Nick LichtenbergJune 16, 2026
2 hours ago
elon musk poses while wearing a suit
AISpaceX
SpaceX’ surging stock paid for the $60 billion Cursor acquisition in just a few hours of trading—and it reveals Elon Musk’s new power
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 16, 2026
3 hours ago
CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk
InvestingSpaceX
SpaceX just surpassed Amazon’s market cap, overtaking the 31-year-old company on day three of public trading
By Eva RoytburgJune 16, 2026
3 hours ago
Meloni quit smoking; notorious bike-hater Trump gets gifted a bike; Macron loses his watch: Hot mic moments from the G7 summit
EuropeDonald Trump
Meloni quit smoking; notorious bike-hater Trump gets gifted a bike; Macron loses his watch: Hot mic moments from the G7 summit
By The Associated Press, Rob Gillies, Sylvie Corbet, Darlene Superville and Collin BinkleyJune 16, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 15, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 15, 2026
1 day ago
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
Success
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
1 day ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of June 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 15, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 15, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
7 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.