Saudi Arabia about to call for bids for first phase of solar energy programme
Dubai — Saudi Arabia will be calling for bids in the next few weeks for the first phase of a $30bn-$50bn renewable-energy programme, says Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih. Opec’s biggest oil producer plans to generate nearly 10GW from renewables, primarily solar and wind power, by 2023, he said Monday at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia was "really moving" to develop nuclear power and intended to build two reactors with a combined capacity of 2.8GW, Al-Falih said. The country was busy at the front-end engineering and design stage of its nuclear plants, he said. Saudi Arabia planned by 2030 to produce 70% of its power from natural gas and 30% from renewables and other sources, Al-Falih said. He did not say for how much renewables capacity it would be tendering in coming weeks or when the nuclear plants would be operational. The kingdom is among crude exporters struggling with budget deficits after oil prices languished for two years at about $50 a barrel. Building more ...
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