Windpower Monthly
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia is targeting 9.5GW of wind and solar energy under its "Vision 2030" policy initiative launched in mid-April.
Deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is aiming to reduce the country's dependence on oil and "create a more diverse and sustainable economy", financed in part by a $2 trillion sovereign fund.
Under the planned King Salman Renewable Energy Initiative, the government will review the legal and regulatory framework for private-sector investment in order to encourage public-private partnerships and promote local manufacture.
It will also "guarantee the competitiveness" of renewable energy through the "gradual liberalisation of the fuels market".
Many of the planned economic reforms are "sensible and long overdue, and using Saudi's vast wind and solar potential could be a big part of that", said Global Wind Energy Council CEO Steve Sawyer.
The previous renewable energy initiative, KA-Care, yielded some ambitious targets but little tangible signs of progress.
