Saudi Arabia has yet to approve the country's renewable energy strategy that aims to reduce crude oil used for domestic power generation and water desalination, an official said today.
The strategy which includes new regulations and financial incentives for private investors to develop the country's renewable energy sources have been submitted to the Cabinet for approval, Maher al-Odan, a consultant with the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, said at a conference in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The agency, known as KA-CARE, is in charge of developing alternative and renewable energy sources.
Al-Odan didn't say when the government would approve the new strategy. Saudi Arabia, holder of one-fifth of global oil reserves, aims to use solar energy to desalinate seawater and build 16 nuclear reactors by 2030 as the nation seeks to cut the amount of crude it burns in generators to meet rising power demand.
Persian Gulf oil producers are seeking to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for power generation to maximize exports of valuable crude and allocate natural gas to petrochemicals production. KA-CARE's al-Odan said that Saudi Arabia is taking steps to develop its renewable strategy as the country needs to add around 20,000 megawatt of electricity in the coming ten years.
KA-CARE forecasts domestic demand for oil and refined products will more than double to 8.3 million barrels of oil equivalent a day by 2028 from 3.4 million last year, al-Odan said. Around 60 percent of the electricity generated in the country goes to cooling homes.