Saudi finance minister hints kingdom could meet 2030 renewables target early
On Monday, the kingdom commissioned its largest battery energy storage system to its grid, with a capacity of 500 megawatts and the ability to store 2,000 megawatt hours of electricity.
DAVOS, Switzerland — Saudi Arabia could achieve its target of having half of its electricity powered by renewables by 2030, ahead of schedule, the kingdom’s finance minister told Al-Monitor.
In 2016, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman introduced the kingdom’s Vision 2030 agenda, which aims to reduce economic dependence on oil by the end of the decade through significant investments in sectors such as green energy, sports, tourism and digitalization. This, in turn, would increase the contribution of non-oil activities to the country’s gross domestic product. One part of the Vision 2030 plan is for Saudi Arabia to generate at least half of its electricity from renewable sources like solar by the end of the decade.
In an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos, Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan said he did not foresee any significant economic headwinds for the kingdom this year.
“What we are doing is significant, and we're actually achieving our targets for 2030 on the economic, environmental, and social fronts,” he said.
