The sun is shining on Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy sector — with plans for dozens of contracts over the coming years posing a “golden opportunity” for investors, according to delegates at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW).
Speaking at the clean-energy conference, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih on Tuesday outlined ambitious plans for solar and wind power, as the Kingdom plans to create “a global hub of renewable energy capability” over the coming decades.
Saudi Arabia plans to generate some 59 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from solar and wind by 2030, and eventually produce upward of 200 GW from renewable sources, Al-Falih said, according to AFP.
Under Saudi Arabia’s clean-energy program, Al-Falih said Riyadh would tender dozens of renewable energy projects every year, with at least 12 such deals slated for 2019, it was reported.
The news follows a string of renewable-energy deals struck by the Kingdom, which last week signed a deal to establish a 400-megawatt (MW) wind farm, following an agreement last year to build a 300-MW solar plant.
On Monday, plans were announced to develop a $2 billion solar and carbon black integrated complex in the heart of the Kingdom.
The deal was struck between Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP) and the Kingdom’s diversified manufacturing company SABIC, in partnership with China’s Longi and South Korea’s OCI, two global solar powerhouses.
“We plan to complete the feasibility study in the next six months, and maybe by the end of the year we will be identifying the shape and legal and financial structure of the project,” said Tariq Bakhsh, vice president of the chemicals and renewables program at NICDP.
“Saudi Arabia is a leader in the region for renewable energy targets.”
