After making a pledge in 2012 for 41 GW of solar capacity by 2032, followed by scant little PV added since then, it would be understandable for onlookers to perceive the countrys renewable energy targets with an air of skepticism. The new target, outlined in the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 paper, does little to alleviate such suspicions, with an enigmatic pledge to install 9.5 GW of renewable energy capacity.
The announcement of the paper was made by deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Within the paper the initial target of 9.5 GW of renewable energy is covered under a new King Salman Renewable Energy Initiative.
The paper mentions local manufacturing and research into renewable energies, but mysteriously it does not set any timeframes for the goal to be reached 9.5 GW, neither does it outline which renewables the capacity will be spread between. As the paper is titled Vision 2030, it may be deduced that the target is for 2030, but without any official confirmation it is hard to tell.
Based on an assumption that the target is for 2030, that would mean average installations of around 700 MW every year, representing a decent opportunity for renewable energy investors. However, if previous Saudi renewable energy targets are to be used as benchmarks, it is far from sure that this new goal will be achieved.
The example that is freshest in the memory was the pledge of 41 GW solar capacity by 2032, made in 2012 by the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE). If the Saudi government had followed through with the pledge at the time the target was set, it would have made the country one of the biggest solar markets in the world by now.
However, none of the plans set out in K.A.CAREs whitepaper were acted upon, and the PV market remains dormant in Saudi Arabia. It will now be interesting to see whether the new paper can reverse the previous trend.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Popular content
Share
1 comment
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.