Saudi's peak power demand to triple in 20 years

Saudi Arabia's peak power demand is set to triple in the next two decades. (Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s peak power demand is expected to triple in the next twenty years, prompting officials to take a serious look at sustainable methods of power generation.
Last summer’s peak demand hit 43 gigawatts, but this is expected to rise to more than 120 gigawatts by 2030. Khalid M. Al-Sulaiman, VP for renewable energy at the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, told a conference at the Saudi Solar Energy forum.

“To meet this growing energy demand and maintain long-term economic prosperity, it is critical that the Kingdom add new power generating capacity while reducing the amount of fossil fuels used to produce electricity.”

Story continues below

Advertisement

FEATURED COMMENT Please click here to comment on this article

He also mentioned that Saudi’s climate and geography makes it a perfect location for solar energy production, saying that the government would focus on the creation of jobs in renewable power generation through the establishment of local manufacturing activities within the solar value chain.

“The development of solar energy in Saudi Arabia is expected to have a large impact on the Kingdom’s future economic growth,” he said.