>>build 16 nuclear reactors in which Russia would play a significant role in operating them.
It would be tragic if Mecca had Chernobyl incident.
I think the Russians started using containment domes after Chernobyl; containment domes are a relatively cheap way to avoid, uh, problems, the kind associated with the rare but serious problems related to drunk and hungover technicians operating nuclear power plants. Probably be a better move to bring in non-Saudis with a technical education to operate them in a country that is ETOH-free by statute.
The Gulf States were slow about capturing natural gas from wells, and typically just burned it off. That went on for decades. Now they sell it, as well as burn it in power plants. If they used the hydrocarbon fuels they’re practically swimming in to build and operate, oh, I dunno, desalination plants, and subdivided the entire Empty Quarter into 40,000,000 4 acre suburban lots, a typical muzzie family (avg just over six per family, 4.3 kids), then offered these for sale at a very modest price, with a water/sewer/electrical/communication buildout as it went, there would be a large number of interested parties, and a significant fraction of the entire muzzie world would be living like modern Connecticut (just no booze).
The Kingdom is also starting to invest [sic] in photovoltaics. Here’s one of history’s most ridiculous headlines:
Saudi Arabia is Investing Heavily in Solar Power; Is This the End for Big Oil?
http://inhabitat.com/saudi-arabia-is-investing-heavily-in-solar-power-is-this-the-end-for-big-oil/
“It would be tragic if Mecca had Chernobyl incident.”
I was thinking the same thing.