Impact Of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 For The Energy Sector

The Saudi Vision 2030 program for the energy sector focuses on a shift towards renewable energy. Saudi Arabia’s electricity entirely depends on fossil fuels. The dependency on fossil fuels is high due to an increase in population and industrialization in the country. Hence, the government has initiated significant developments in solar, wind, geothermal, and waste – to – energy fields. The government has established Tarshid, a National Energy Services Company, to catalyze the development of a significant energy-efficient Saudi Arabia. Tarshid has launched phase 1 and phase 2 of the government facility rehabilitation project.

“Vision 2030 is built around three primary themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation.” – Saudi Embassy

The goal of this program is to reduce oil dependency, increase the economy, develop public service sectors, recreation for tourism, increase job opportunities for Saudi’s, and modernization.

The Vision 2030 program for the energy sector focuses on shifting towards renewable energy. The consumption of electricity in Saudi is growing high and is expected to double by the year 2032. Saudi Arabia’s electricity generation entirely depends on fossil fuels. The extensive use of fossil fuels like oil and natural gas for generating electricity results in a higher amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

In the year 2017, Saudi Arabia was ranked as the 9th largest CO2 emitter. The dependency on fossil fuels is high due to an increase in population and industrialization in the country. Vision 2030 program focuses on shifting towards renewable energy. The energy sector aims to generate an energy capacity of 71.6GW by the year 2040.
The government has initiated significant developments in solar, wind, geothermal, and waste – to – energy fields.

According to IJSER (International journal of scientific & engineering research)” Vision 2030 can help Saudi Arabia save nearly 250 million barrels of oil, 300million tons of carbon dioxide and approximately $25 billion annually from the year 2040 onwards, provided all the policies and strategies are implemented efficiently by the government of Saudi Arabia.” The vision of 2030 is to generate a renewable energy capacity of 71.6GW by the year 2040. To start with, Saudi is targeted at 9.5GW by 2023 under the national renewable energy program.

Phase-I:

The project is aimed at reducing the power consumption in the public service sector. The project was first launched in Riyadh; the state consumes 13 percent of the power of the kingdom. The phase-I is expected to save up to 60 percent of the power consumption. It will also be implemented in other parts of the city.

Phase-II: Streetlights Renovation Program

The project is aimed to install 2,16,700 LED lamps in the cities Damman, Khobar, Dhahran, Al Ahsa, and Sakakah. The LED lamps will save around 241,257,257 kWh/y with greater efficiency. The LED lamps are long-lasting; they consume less energy than traditional light bulbs. Resulting in saving energy, saving money, and prevents greenhouse gas emission.

In the coming years, the company is expected to renovate and install two million street lights that are energy-efficient according to the global standards.