Saudi Arabia has recently selected eight locations in the Kingdom to test the possibility of producing electricity from wind energy, a source told local media.
The Kingdom is capable of reducing the consumption of hydrocarbon fuels in electricity generation and water desalination by 50 percent by 2032. The share of renewable energy in this regard will roughly hit 30 percent, the source said quoting a study released by King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE). Work is currently under way to draft legal and investment frameworks in the renewable energy sector to determine the proposed tariffs of electricity from renewable energy generating firms, he said.
KACARE originally aimed to introduce atomic and renewable energy within electricity generation and water desalination systems. This would lessen dependence on hydrocarbon resources, a matter that will prolong the life of these resources and keep them as a source of income for longer periods.
The Kingdom is targeting that the share of solar energy to electricity generation capacity will be between 16-22 percent by 2032, or 41 Giga-Watt (GW), the source said.
Khalid Al-Sulaiman, vice president of KACARE, told reporters in earlier statements that the Kingdom was working to save between 360,000 to 520,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2032 through the implementation of a solar energy plan for the production of electricity.
The share of solar energy will add more than 20 percent to the Kingdom’s required energy in 20 years from now whereas other alternatives, such as wind and atomic energy, will roughly add 50 percent of the total required energy by 2032, he was quoted as saying.
Wind-generated electricity to be tested
