The KAUST New Energy Oasis (NEO), part of the Technology Application and Advancement Group (TAAG), hosted an open afternoon to showcase its renewable energy technology on May 7.

Held at the NEO site located near the campus's Innovation Cluster buildings, the open afternoon enabled the wider KAUST community to experience "up close" guided tours to learn more about the site's different types of renewable energy technologies.

The technologies on-site come from 11 different international technology providers, with the unique environment of Saudi Arabia providing an excellent opportunity to test these technologies in real-world conditions. Renewable energy is a key solution to the Kingdom's growing energy demands, and is an important area of research for the University.

NEO's goal is to provide both quantitative and qualitative information to a variety of providers in the Renewable Energy value chain, which will enable them to select the most appropriate technologies for instantiation in the Kingdom.

Technologies on-site include solar energy technologies, including photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies, and dust mitigation technologies designed to address the problem of soiling (dust accumulation) on solar panels.