Saudi Arabia Renewables Report

The rationalisation of public spending - amid lower oil prices - combined with the pushback of solar power targets will hamper growth in Saudi Arabia's non-hydropower renewables sector. As the Saudi Arabian renewables sector is in its early stages, we forecast that it will struggle to gain entry to the thermal power dominated market.

Latest Updates And Structural Trends
■ We have revised our forecasts for total non-hydropower renewables to be added throughout the 10-year forecast period. In our previous report we forecasted that installed solar capacity will increase from 47 megawatts (MW) to 1,286MW. However, due to the subdued economic forecast (as a result of the lower oil prices) and the Saudi Arabian government's decision to push back their renewables targets by eight years, we believe growth in installed solar capacity will be slowed.
■ There have been reports that the Public Authority for Electricity in Saudi Arabia has presented a plan to privatise the Saudi Arabian power sector. Outlined in this plan is the desire to increase the amount of renewable power sources - solar in particular - in the overall power generation mix. We note that this could be a positive sign for growth in solar capacity, though our forecasts remain bearish due to the subdued economic climate and the government shifting back their renewable energy targets. We will revise our forecast should we see evidence of new projects being planned.
■ Saudi Arabia based Al-Afandi Group planning to open a 120MW PV panel factory, which will produce up to 450,000 solar panels a year. This presents an opportunity for growth in solar in Saudi Arabia, due to the local content requirement of 80% for solar power projects.

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Renewables Headline Forecasts (Saudi Arabia 2015-2021)
3. Total Electricity Generation Data And Forecasts (Saudi Arabia 2014-2019)
4. Overview
5. Electricity Generating Capacity Data And Forecasts (Saudi Arabia 2014-2019)
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