RIYADH: As Saudi Arabia sets its sights on deriving half of its energy mix from renewable sources by 2030, the Kingdom is actively advancing with 22.8 gigawatts of renewable energy projects.
In an interview with Arab News, Muneef Al-Muneef, general director of renewable energy policies at the Saudi Ministry of Energy, shed light on the Kingdom’s ongoing commitment to expanding its renewable energy portfolio.
“Right now, we have 22.8 GW of renewable energy projects under different stages of development; 2.8 GW will be operational before the end of the year,” Al-Muneef said.
He further explained that construction will soon commence on an additional 4 GW, with an extra 8 GW entering the execution phase following the ministry’s signing of power purchase agreements for these projects.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia is set to tender another 8 GW of renewable energy projects before the year’s end, Al-Muneef revealed.
He added that these projects primarily comprise solar and wind energy initiatives strategically located across the Kingdom based on demand and potential.
Exploring new technologies, Al-Muneef explained that the Kingdom is continuously monitoring the performance of other innovations that can be used to achieve its national targets.
“We look at storage technologies and within storage. We look at battery storage. Even within battery storage, we look at whether it’s lithium-ion or vanadium redox; all technologies are welcome,” said Al-Muneef.
The ministry has also looked at pumped hydro storage and geothermal technologies.
“We don’t really tie ourselves to one. We’re consistently monitoring the potential of these technologies and their level of applicability in the Kingdom and whether these technologies can help us achieve our targets,” he added.
Furthermore, Al-Muneef underscored the pivotal role of hydrogen in charting a sustainable path forward.
He emphasized that hydrogen is poised to have a “vital role” in Saudi Arabia’s decarbonization efforts.
However, Al-Muneef pointed out the hurdles when embarking on clean energy initiatives. He mentioned that the global surge in renewable energy projects has intensified the strain on the supply chain.
Functional challenges have been inherent in renewable energy projects. For instance, when clouds obstruct solar panels or a lack of breeze in wind energy projects, the cost of operations to support these facilities increases.
