Saudi Arabia Plans $109 Billion Investment in Renewables by 2032

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Saudi Arabia detailed a roadmap for a sustainable, long-term supply of renewable energy. The plan calls for $109 billion in spending to produce an additional 54.1 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy by 2032, which will account for a third of the total domestic energy consumption.

If all goes in line with projections, Saudi Arabia will become one of the world's main producers of renewable energy. According to BP Statistical Yearbook 2011, the global installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) solar power was 69.4 GW.

The first phase of solar energy tenders are expected to be launched in the first quarter of this year. Renewable power developers will have 20-year contracts to sell electricity to a new government body, which in turn will sell it to the national grid.

The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) will be responsible for the programme. KACARE said that it aims to issue a request for pre-qualification for the first renewable plants within two months and a final tender within three months, and to award contracts within a year.

Riyadh has announced plans to generate 50% of its electricity from nuclear, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2032.

Saudi Arabia is producing just less than 10 million barrels per day. It has total capacity of 12.5 million barrels per day and is focusing on expanding its natural gas output. Gas demand also has risen as a result of a rapidly expanding petrochemicals sector.

The International Energy Agency said in July 2011 that Saudi Arabia's direct burning of crude oil for power generation has been rising rapidly in recent years and was set to reach a record average level of 582,000 barrels per day in 2011.

Crude burning in Saudi Arabia peaks during the summer months, when demand for electricity is at its highest, as air conditioning use rises. Saudi Arabia, the global leader of oil exports, is already among the world's top 10 consuming nations.

In December 2011, Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid al-Faleh said that an average of 500,000 barrels per day crude oil was being burned for power generation. He said total energy consumption in barrels of oil equivalent was in the range of 4 million barrels oil-equivalent per day (BOE/d), about 50% of which was gas-based. Consumption is set to double to 8.2 million BOE/d by 2030 if it is not curbed, he said at the time.

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