S05 TRME Power 2021 Power Review_Layout 1 24/06/2021 15:00 Page 16
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Annual Power Review
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Prospects and fundamentals for power sector look robust.
Building back better
Clean energy solutions making rapid headway as Gulf states transition away from traditional thermal-based generation. Martin Clark reports.
Better technology and improved economics are opening up new utility-scale opportunities for both solar and wind power.
HERE IS NO doubt that the pandemic has significantly impacted all businesses and industries in the Gulf, but prospects and fundamentals for the power sector still look robust, nonetheless. Energy demand has been strong for many years as the region’s economies have grown, placing huge requirements on developers for new energy infrastructure, from power stations to miles upon miles of connections. This has helped fuel both industrial expansion, including major projects in petrochemicals and transport, as well as meeting the rise in demand for domestic energy services. Saudi Arabia, for instance, has turned to crude oil to meet some of its electricity
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Technical Review Middle East - Annual Power Review 2021
needs, as well as drawing on cleaner burning natural gas. This is changing, however, with the kingdom moving to use more gas in its energy mix — not only to generate cleaner electricity, but also to free up more oil for export — and exploring other avenues. Saudi Arabia is likewise moving swiftly with its renewables agenda: the kingdom aims to produce as much as 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Indeed, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in April that his country had signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with seven new solar projects that will will produce more than 3,600 megawatts (MW) capacity and provide electricity for more than 600,000 households.
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