Developing Saudi Arabia’s clean energy market

Saudi Arabia

Omar AlDaweesh, general manager of EDF Saudi Arabia, talks to The Energy Year about the recent shifts in the Saudi energy market and how EDF is developing sustainable power generation assets in the kingdom in line with Saudi Vision 2030. EDF provides energy solutions and services in support of a net-zero future.

How has the Saudi energy market shifted in recent years?
Saudi Arabia is a thriving and ever-growing market. It is the only country in the Middle East that is a part of the G20, and it has by far the largest economy in the region. Back in 2016, the government announced Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to transform the country both economically – by shifting away from oil dependency and creating a diverse and sustainable economy – and socially.
On the energy front, the kingdom intends to diversify its energy sources, with the first target set for 2030 being to allow 50% of local power generation to emerge from renewable sources and the remaining 50% to come from gas as part of the liquid displacement programme. The kingdom plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
There are clear and ambitious plans set by the Saudi government which are shaping the economy’s future, and the kingdom has reaffirmed its commitment to the Paris Agreement goals and submitted the Updated First Nationally Determined Contributions to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2021.
The kingdom is currently developing and implementing various programmes, policies and initiatives to address climate change challenges at the national, regional and global scale.
Such programmes and initiatives include the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI), the Middle East Green Initiative, the Circular Carbon Economy National Program, the National Renewable Energy Program, the Saudi Energy Efficiency Program and the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies.
The latter will be developed through new infrastructure and the establishment of global CCUS hubs, such as the one announced by Saudi Aramco during the SGI exhibition recently held at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, and several more hubs are expected to follow.
The strength of this new direction lies in the clear vision and understanding of the milestones to be achieved.

How has EDF supported the growth of the Saudi energy market?
EDF began its journey in the kingdom in 2012 by establishing its group office in Riyadh and by familiarising itself with the local stakeholders and supply chain. We did this in anticipation of an ambitious Saudi nuclear programme, for which we intended to develop our EPR [evolutionary power reactor] technology in the kingdom.
Additionally, we established a fruitful co-operation with the Saudi Electricity Company that focused on training, human capacity building and the exchange of best practices in utilities.
Over time we began diversifying our activities and establishing a stronger presence in the kingdom, as we deem it a strategic market for the group. Currently, we are active in renewables and district cooling and energy efficiency, and we are actively aligning our group R&D efforts with the strategic objectives of the Saudi government and its vision.
EDF has participated in a number of bids in the kingdom through its renewables arm, EDF Renewables, and in July 2022 we successfully commissioned the Dumat Al Jandal Project, the largest and most powerful wind farm in the Middle East to date. It has a total installed capacity of 400 MW.
In 2023, we have continued our strong renewables presence by commissioning our first utility-scale solar plant in the kingdom, the Noor Jeddah 300-MW Solar Project, which makes EDF the sole company in Saudi Arabia thus far with a combination of solar and wind utilities projects and the first non-regional investor in the local renewables sector.
Our ambition in the kingdom is to further consolidate our reach across the local renewables sector, increase our development of assets and remain a key contributor to achieving the national target of 50% renewables in the Saudi energy mix by 2030. We are also looking to further grow our activities in the secondary market for renewables, tackling industry players and off-grid sites.

How does EDF’s involvement in the Amaala property mega-project exemplify its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s sustainability goals?
EDF Group is fully committed to supporting Saudi Arabia’s sustainability goals, and our recent partnership in the Amaala project on the Red Sea coast shows our strong support. Through a utilities concession agreement with Red Sea Global and Masdar, we’re enabling Amaala to operate entirely off-grid on clean, decarbonised energy from a 250 MWp solar plant and a 700-MWh battery storage system. This initiative not only ensures clean electricity and water for over 10,000 households but also reduces CO2 emissions by nearly half a million tonnes annually, aligning with our commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. Amaala represents a unique vision for sustainable luxury and environmental responsibility.

What aspects of the power value chain offer the most opportunities in line with your expertise?
In addition to the previously mentioned utility-scale renewables market, for which our subsidiary EDF Renewables is dedicated, we believe that the secondary market offers great development opportunities. For this market we have established Emerge – a 50-50 JV with Masdar – which is already active in the UAE with a portfolio of 90 MW.
By examining the business model for the Saudi market, we noticed that the demand for commercial and industrial assets is quite high. Consequently, we are actively looking to diversify and intensify our investments.
Such projects could include microgrids, distributed solar, the decarbonisation of assets and various other ventures for which we will leverage the expertise of both EDF and Masdar. We have a strong pipeline across the Middle East, with approximately 80 MW in Saudi Arabia.
Along with new digital technologies, there is an array of potential synergies to be explored between our business lines that would support new business models. Many of our subsidiaries and group entities are already present here in the kingdom, such as Dalkia and those previously mentioned.
We believe there are many opportunities for Dalkia to establish itself in the kingdom and to support local industry with its expertise in district cooling, operations and maintenance, and energy efficiency.

How will EDF further support Saudi Arabia’s vision for a clean future?
The kingdom’s strategy to reach carbon neutrality by 2060 will be supported by the development of low-emissions gas-generated power. Two main combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) projects have been recently announced with a total power capacity of 7.2 GW. Both projects, Taiba and Qassim, will be comprised of an innovative carbon-capture installation which aims to decarbonise what the plants generate.
EDF is involved in these projects, which will be developed under a BOO model. Our mandate is to work towards the full decarbonisation of CCGT projects, and we are eager to support the government’s ambition for greater CCUS capabilities.
These efforts are primarily fuelled by our intense R&D activities, for which we dedicated a budget exceeding EUR 500 million last year. We have various laboratories across the globe and a pool of experts and PhD graduates that are continuously working towards adapting our solutions to face new challenges.
Our R&D strategy is the main pillar behind the EDF Group’s success and leadership in terms of innovative energy solutions. We are key partners across the whole value chain, and that expertise and technological readiness is what has also allowed us to position ourselves strongly within the emerging market for hydrogen.
As part of our sustainability vision and our continuous efforts to align with the Saudi strategy, we strongly believe that hydrogen will play a key role in the global energy transition, and we have already secured a strong position in, for example, electrolyser manufacturing, clean hydrogen generation and infrastructure development.
Moreover, we are utilising our international presence to develop a comprehensive overview of the opportunities that different importing and exporting countries have regarding the scalability of hydrogen value chains.
Our key focus for the years to come lies in our dedication to fighting climate change and providing the best and most innovative solutions to that end. We are very eager to continue our growth in the kingdom, to further increase our role in supporting this historic transformation in the country under Saudi Vision 2030 and to further integrate local talent and capacities into our development.

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