From Oil to Solar: Saudi Arabia Plots a Shift to Renewables
- 6 years ago
From Oil to Solar: Saudi Arabia Plots a Shift to Renewables
Paddy Padmanathan, the chief executive of ACWA Power, which also has other energy projects in the region, predicted in an interview last month
that once the country’s energy authorities became comfortable with renewables, they would ramp up their goals for wind and solar power production.
Riyadh on Monday tapped ACWA Power, a Saudi energy company, to build a solar farm that would generate enough electricity to power up to 200,000 homes.
"That is why they are doing it." A big push into wind
and solar power would also have other benefits, notably allowing Saudi Arabia to sell more of its oil.
Attracting investment into what is essentially a nonexistent sector in the kingdom, Mr. Shehri said, would mean "creating jobs, creating manufacturing." Still, despite the ambitious goals
and positive language, the process by which Saudi Arabia has looked to expand its wind and solar capacity has raised concerns.
At 2 to 3 cents per kilowatt-hour, a wholesale measure of electricity, solar power here
would be below the cost of fossil fuel-generated electricity, Mr. Shehri said.
Still, the experiment with solar power has been an important catalyst, and the company built a team of experts in renewable power.
Paddy Padmanathan, the chief executive of ACWA Power, which also has other energy projects in the region, predicted in an interview last month
that once the country’s energy authorities became comfortable with renewables, they would ramp up their goals for wind and solar power production.
Riyadh on Monday tapped ACWA Power, a Saudi energy company, to build a solar farm that would generate enough electricity to power up to 200,000 homes.
"That is why they are doing it." A big push into wind
and solar power would also have other benefits, notably allowing Saudi Arabia to sell more of its oil.
Attracting investment into what is essentially a nonexistent sector in the kingdom, Mr. Shehri said, would mean "creating jobs, creating manufacturing." Still, despite the ambitious goals
and positive language, the process by which Saudi Arabia has looked to expand its wind and solar capacity has raised concerns.
At 2 to 3 cents per kilowatt-hour, a wholesale measure of electricity, solar power here
would be below the cost of fossil fuel-generated electricity, Mr. Shehri said.
Still, the experiment with solar power has been an important catalyst, and the company built a team of experts in renewable power.