Saudi Arabia is targeting 54 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2032, an official at the body developing Saudi Arabia's renewable energy program said.
Solar is intended to make up around 42 GW of the total, wind around 9 GW, and geothermal and waste-to-energy sources the remainder, Khalid Sulaiman, vice president for renewable energy at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy said.
Late last year the kingdom announced ambitious plans to generate 50% of its electricity from nuclear and other renewable energy sources by 2032.
The world's top oil exporter is targeting 10%-15% of its energy mix coming from renewables by 2020, Mr. Sulaiman said. He added that Saudi Arabia forecasts it will need 120 GW of peak power by 2030 to 2032.
Mr. Sulaiman told Dow Jones Newswires that Saudi Arabia expects to finalize its targets for renewable energy generation this year and will likely hold a bidding round for companies to participate in the process once this is completed.
He said progress could be slow initially as the country seeks to build expertise in cooperation with foreign countries.
"We have to build gradually to learn and get experience and then we will accelerate," he said.
Saudi Arabia's move toward renewables is important in ensuring long-term energy supply globally, Mr. Sulaiman added.
"The world still needs fossil fuel and Saudi Arabia takes its responsibility as a reliable provider of energy to the world very seriously," he said.
Dow Jones Newswires
29 January
