Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced big renewable investment plans during the kingdom’s 2022 budget forum this week (MEES, 17 December). Prince Abdulaziz says that the kingdom will invest SR380bn ($101bn) into renewable energy production by 2030. This comes as Saudi Arabia aims for renewable energy to provide 50% of electricity generation by 2030, with the other half slated to come from gas-fired thermal power plants.
Contracts for 2.97GW of solar capacity were awarded earlier this year through the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP: MEES, 16 April). The next step is to award contracts for the 1.2GW third phase of the NREP, with shortlisted bids unveiled in October (MEES, 22 October). (CONTINUED - 207 WORDS)
