Representing Saudi Arabia, Dr. Khalid Bin Saleh Al-Sultan said the country aims to generate half of its electricity using renewable energy by 2030. The other half will depend on gas. Dr. Bin Saleh Al-Sultan is the Chairman of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE).
During his speech at the 11th session of the General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), he made this announcement. He also thanked IRENA on the Kingdom’s behalf for promoting the use of renewables at the regional and global level.
According to Dr. Bin Saleh Al-Sultan, Saudi Arabia is building a sustainable renewable energy sector – that includes services, industries, qualification of human cadres, and localization of technologies – by defining main frameworks.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy is approving policies that stimulate private sector participation in this field. It’s updating regulations for renewable energy projects to meet National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) goals, in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The planning is conducted under the Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman’s direct and continuous supervision. This energy organization is a unified center for all the Kingdom’s capabilities (including organization, measurement, research, data collection, development, and renewable energy tender offering).
Energy Minister said on a panel at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh:
We will be another Germany when it comes to renewables. We will be pioneering. The Kingdom is working with many countries on green and blue hydrogen projects and those to capture carbon emissions.
Saudi Arabia has launched several new initiatives and projects under the energy organization context, including a green hydrogen project in NEOM and Saudi Aramco and SABIC projects to store and use carbon in manufacturing blue ammonia and other products. The G20 countries’ leaders approved Blue ammonia as a means of preventing global warming. Other endeavors include:
- Increasing the local content in service and industrial value chains.
- Enabling new technologies in the renewable energy field.
- Qualifying the necessary human capital.
Saudi Arabia is also beginning to develop a carbon-free city called The Line, which is part of NEOM. It will have zero cars, zero emissions, and stretch across the country 105 miles in a straight line, from Egypt to Jordan.