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martyb [soylentnews.org] writes:

The Wall Street Journal reports Saudi Arabia Shelves Work on SoftBank's $200 Billion Solar Project [wsj.com] (paywalled, alternate URL [zilliuns.com]):

Saudi Arabia has put on hold a $200 billion plan with SoftBank Group Corp. to build the world's biggest solar-power-generation project, said Saudi government officials, setting back another eye-catching transformation project in the kingdom.

The stalled solar project marks a setback for a partnership between Saudi Arabia and SoftBank that has pursued ambitious ideas. Together, they have created a $100 billion fund for technology company investments that has resulted in a rush of new money flooding into startups.

The solar project would have turned the world's most important oil producer into a giant in solar power, ultimately generating about 200 gigawatts of energy -- more than three times the country's daily needs. The plan was announced by SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in New York last March and was meant to be an extension of their partnership.

Now, officials and a Saudi government adviser said, no one is actively working on the project.

Instead, 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 resolve the confusion that the SoftBank plan created and clarify the kingdom's renewable energy goals, a Saudi official said.

The original plan was based on Saudi Arabia completing an IPO of the Saudi Aramco oil company which was, at one time, estimated to raise $2 trillion. Then the price of oil dropped. The price has recovered somewhat, but an IPO would certainly be more lucrative if the price of oil were higher. So spending from the proceeds of the IPO on a solar farm have been pushed back.

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