Windpower Monthly
SAUDI ARABIA: A reshuffle in the Saudi Arabia government has cast doubt over its planned 9GW of wind projects. Windpower Monthly asks what losing the planned capacity would mean for the industry.
Steve Sawyer, CEO, Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)
At GWEC, we had prioritized keeping track of the potentially very exciting developments in Saudi Arabia simply because the resource is large and the potential demand is very large.
However, we always knew that KACare was in a politically precarious situation; that it was to a large degree dependent upon the good graces of the King; and that there were strong forces arrayed against it.
Now with the King's passing, it appears that the opposition has seized the upper hand, at least for the moment.
I would imagine that the interest in the story was as much about the insights it provides into the mysterious power struggles in the ruling family of the world's largest oil producing country. We all know that the regime is unstable to some degree, and that its collapse would have dramatic consequences for global oil supply and the global economy.
