Saudi pledges 50% of electricity to come from renewables

The way electricity is generated in one of the world’s biggest oil producing nations is about to change

Saudi Arabia, the world’s second largest oil-producing nation, has pledged that 50% of electricity will be from renewables by 2030. At the second Middle East Green Initiative Summit held simultaneously with Cop27, HRH Mohammed bin Salman reaffirmed Saudi’s commitment to environmental goals pledging that 50% of the electricity produced inside the kingdom will be from renewable sources by 2030. That’s estimated to reduce the Kingdom’s carbon emissions by 15% — or 44 million tonnes — by 2035.

In the Saudi Crown Prince’s speech, attended by leaders and representatives of countries in the Middle East, the renewables pledge was part of a wider promise to eliminate 670 million tonnes of carbon emissions in the Middle East. If achieved, these cuts would amount to 10% of global emissions.

In 2020, Saudi Arabia generated less than 730 GWh from renewables, accounting for 0.2% of the country’s electricity production. Today, Saudi’s National Renewable Energy Program includes 13 projects with a total capacity of 4,870 megawatts, including 4,470 megawatts of solar and 400 megawatts of wind.

Saudi Arabia’s journey to net zero (Saudi & Middle East Green Initiative)

Last month, five new projects announced included three wind energy and two solar farms to produce electricity using renewable energy, with a total capacity of 3,300 megawatts (an average UK home uses 3,100KWh of electricity per year). Other new renewable sources will include floating solar fields on lakes, designed to stay cool and generate energy more efficiently, without using valuable land resources.

Two goals guide the MGI climate action roadmap: in addition to the carbon emissions reduction, the area has pledged to plant 50 billion trees across the region. HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the conference, “We have supported the projects of the Green Middle East Initiative with an amount of US$ 2.5 billion.”

To find out more about the Saudi Green Initiative, visit greeninitiatives.gov.sa/about-sgi/