As part of an economic reform plan launched with Vision 2030 to diversify the economy beyond oil, Saudi Arabia has embarked on an ambitious renewables programme featuring solar and wind power, to balance economic needs towards environmental goals.

Renewable energy is increasingly becoming a new sector in the Kingdom and is expected to expand until the new renewable energy program can reach its target by 2023. Saudi Arabia’s renewable program involves investment of between $30 billion and $50 billion by 2023. Saudi Arabia is targeting 9.5 GW of renewable energy by 2023 in line with Vision 2030.

Solar energy
With its vast landscape, featuring empty stretches of desert that can host solar arrays and vast deposits of clear sand that can be used in the manufacture of silicon photovoltaic cells and benefiting from approximately 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, Saudi Arabia is highly suited to the development of solar energy. Major Saudi Arabian organizations forecasts that the cost of solar production will drop to $0.10 per kWh in the period 2010-20 in the GCC, making it cheaper than diesel-fired generation and placing it on par with gas.

Wind Power

The assessment showed that the cities of Dhulum and Arar were potential sites for off-grid, remote wind turbines. Research also concluded that hybrid based power generation would be a more viable and cost-effective approach for remotely located communities that need an independent source of electrical energy where it is uneconomical to extend the grid.

Nuclear Energy

Riyadh-based research center has been providing the best practices and R&Din atomic energy, they have announced plans to build 16 nuclear reactors by 2030, and aims to have the first two reactors in up and running shortly, and then to establish two nuclear reactors in each following year. The estimated cost of each reactor would be US$7 billion and Saudi Arabia plans to cover 20 per cent of its electricity needs using nuclear energy.

Riyadh-based research center also stated that hydrocarbons would remain a prime element in the energy mix in 2023, by an estimation of 60GW. This will also be supported with nuclear energy at 17.6GW, solar at 41GW, of which 16GW will be generated through the use of photovoltaic cells and the balance of 25GW by concentrated solar power, wind at 9GW, and waste-to-energy at 3GW and geothermal at 1GW. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report estimated that achieving the GCC renewable energy targets could create an average of 140,000 direct jobs per year.

Investement Oppotunities

On April 2017, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih launched a tender process for the Kingdom’s 300 megawatts Sakaka solar project. He said more wind and solar projects are in the pipeline. Launching the major project at the Saudi Arabia Renewable Energy Investment Forum (SAREIF), Al-Falih told more than 800 local and foreign delegates that the National Center for Renewable Energy Data has also been established. The Sakaka project in Al-Jouf, which is expected to come online by 2019, involves the development, design, financing, construction, testing, completion and operation of a greenfield solar PV plant. The project is expected to have a total capacity output not exceeding at any time 300 MW capacity of electricity generation. The project forms part of the Round 1 of the National Renewable Energy Program. Some 51 companies have expressed interests for the Sakaka project. He also announced that final touches are being given to another wind project for 400 megawatts in Domat Al-Jandar. Under the new initiatives to obtain renewable energy from wind and solar projects, the minister said it would target 1,200 megawatts through 30 projects in the next seven years. The initiative plans to derive 10 gigawatts of power from renewable energy to the national grid.

In addition to the vast solar energy resources in the Kingdom, wind energy is among the best worldwide with wind capacity twice the global minimum in numerous areas in Northern and Northwest regions of the Kingdom. The recent inauguration of the first wind turbine in Turaif demonstrates Saudi Aramco’s strategy of integrating renewable energy into its operations. The wind turbine will create enough power to supply 250 homes, which has the potential to displace 19,000 barrels of oil equivalent, and generate 2.75MW of energy, thereby reducing demand for electricity from the national grid.

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