The Kingdom has announced an ambitious goal of reaching 41GW of solar power generation capacity by 2032 (25GW of concentrated solar power (CSP) and 16GW of Photovoltaics).
The German Embassy will join three other organizations in holding for the first time an exhibition of the German Energy Agency (DENA) on renewable energies in the key cities of the Kingdom.
The 18th annual conference of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is to be held in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah from Monday through Dec. 7.
"We are willing to set an example in climate protection. Renewable energy has evolved into a highly innovative sector in Germany," said German Ambassador Dieter Haller in a statement.
Andreas Hergenroether, delegate of German industry and commerce in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, said: "German economy is internationally well-known as world leader in the first of green technologies and innovative concepts."
GESALO said that Germany is like no other major industrialized country committed to building up a significant energy-generating capacity based on renewable energies.
It said in a statement: "The exhibition will give an insight into the German renewable energy philosophy. Almost 20 percent of electricity in Germany is now produced from renewable sources."
Given the abundance of solar energy in the region, solar power is among the most important of the "renewable energy" alternatives being promoted by Saudi Arabia."
The Kingdom has announced an ambitious goal of reaching 41GW of solar power generation capacity by 2032 (25GW of concentrated solar power (CSP) and 16GW of Photovoltaics). A 9GW wind energy capacity is also being envisaged. Building up energy generation capacity will be a major field of investment in the future.
GESALO also said that renewable energies are not only a factor in combating climate change and its consequences such as extreme weather events but can also help save mineral resources as raw materials for the petrochemical industry rather than use them in power generation.
Renewable energies can also contribute to diversifying industry and create jobs.
The other exhibitors include the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), Green Gulf and the German-Saudi Arabian Liaison Office for Economic Affairs in Riyadh (GESALO).
GESALO said that Intercontinental Hotels Group is committed to contribute its share to more sustainability and energy efficiency in its operations. The group has set itself several goals under its corporate responsibility program and will further develop and expand its "green engage" program all over the world to at least 50 percent of its estate, and make it easier to use for participating hotels.
With the latest UN climate change summit kicking off in the Quatari capital of Doha this week, attention will be focused on how the oil and gas-rich Gulf States are responding to climate change.
So it was perhaps unsurprising that Saudia Arabia chose last week to confirm it is on track to start work on its first major solar farm early next year, as part of ambitious plans that could see the world’s largest oil exporter generate a third of its electricity from the sun within 20 years.
Khalid al-Suliman, vice president at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, told the state-owned Saudi Press Agency that work on the country’s first solar farm is poised to start as soon as the government signs off on his department’s high profile renewable energy strategy.
He added the project was on track to begin feeding electricity into the grid by 2015 and will mark the first step on the government’s path towards delivering 41GW of solar capacity by 2032, through a combination of solar PV and solar thermal technologies.
Saudi Arabia announced this year that it is to become the latest Gulf state to adopt a wide-ranging solar strategy, outlining plans to invest $109bn over the next 20 years in order to take advantage of its excellent solar resources and diversify its energy mix. Its stance echoes that of several countries in the region, including Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, all of which have recently unveiled new plans for accelerating investment in renewable energy.
The latest update came as Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power International reportedly signed a $1bn deal to supply the Moroccan government with electricity from a 160MW solar thermal plant the company has built with Spain’s Aries Ingenieria & Sistemas SA and TSK Electronica & Electricidad SA.
Under the 25 year power purchase agreement, the Moroccan government has agreed to take the power from the facility in Ouarzazate when it comes online in 2015.
Separately, the Saudi Press Agency reported the country was also moving forward with plans for up to 17 new nuclear reactors over the next 20 years, at an estimated cost of $100bn.
It will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh Monday through Nov. 28. It will then be held in Dammam on Nov. 30-Dec. 2 and in Jeddah on Dec. 5-7.
