JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia aims to exceed its target to generate 9.5 gigawatts of electricity from renewable energy annually, to highlight its long-term commitment to green energy, a senior government official said.
“We plan to exceed 9.5 gigawatts,” Turki Al-Shehri, head of the energy ministry’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office told the Sino-Saudi investment forum in Jeddah on Thursday.
“The whole idea of this is to give investors a sense of comfort that the Kingdom has a long-term vision for renewable energy,” he later told Reuters.
The government has said it plans to generate 9.5 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from renewable sources a year by 2023 through 60 projects, involving an estimated investment of between $30 billion and $50 billion.
Shehri declined to give further details on when the government expects to exceed the target or other details, saying such an announcement would be made by the energy minister.
Expressions of interest in Saudi’s first utility-scale solar project had come from China more than any other country, he said.
Saudi Arabia aims to exceed renewable energy target
Saudi Arabia aims to exceed renewable energy target
QatarEnergy announces force majeure following Iran attacks: statement
DOHA: Qatar’s state-run energy firm on Wednesday declared force majeure following attacks on two of its main facilities that halted liquefied natural gas production and as Iran pressed missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.
“Further to the announcement by QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas and associated products, QatarEnergy has declared Force Majeure to its affected buyers,” the company said in a statement.
QatarEnergy invoked the clause, which shields it from penalties and potential breach of contract claims from clients, after stopping LNG production on Monday.
Iranian drones attacked two of the company’s main production hubs in Ras Laffan Industrial City, 80 km north of Doha and in Mesaieed 40 km south of the Qatari capital, Doha’s ministry of defense said at the time.
The Gulf state is one of the world’s top liquefied natural gas producers, alongside the US, Australia and Russia.
On Tuesday, QatarEnergy said it would halt some downstream production of some products including urea, polymers, methanol, aluminum and others.
Qatar shares the world’s largest natural gas reservoir with Iran.
QatarEnergy estimates the Gulf state’s portion of the reservoir, the North Field, holds about 10 percent of the world’s known natural gas reserves.
In recent years, Qatar has inked a series of long-term LNG deals with France’s Total, Britain’s Shell, India’s Petronet, China’s Sinopec and Italy’s Eni, among others.
