Saudi Arabia Sees 7,000 Jobs Coming From Solar Programme By 2020

Solar is a big part of Saudi's plan to reduce its dependency on oil. “We see it as complementing oil because renewables bring more than just a low-value fuel”

- Anthony DiPaola

Saudi Arabia is hoping its solar-power programme will generate 7,000 jobs and build a local manufacturing industry that can export products to the world, reducing domestic demand for its crude oil in the process.

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources requires bidders seeking to build about 3.45 gigawatts of solar and wind plants by 2020 to spend 30 per cent of the capital they invest through home-grown workers and companies, said Turki al-Shehri, head of the renewable project development office for the kingdom.

“We want to create value,” Al-Shehri said in an interview at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance conference in New York earlier this week. “We don’t just want to bring in companies that open up manufacturing facilities at a very high premium, which the consumer will end up paying. We want to ensure that whatever they are opening is competitive, that it can compete globally for exports.”

The remarks indicate the importance of the renewable energy programme to a kingdom that’s among the world’s biggest exporters of crude oil. With a growing population and surging demand for electricity, Saudi Arabia is seeking new energy supplies to ensure that more of its oil reaches export markets instead of being consumed at home.