Signs of life in Saudi renewables

Progress on capacity auctions and carbon-free megaprojects signals fresh momentum in Kingdom’s clean power sector

A wait of over two years ended in early March, when the Saudi Ministry of Energy selected developers for the two largest projects offered in its third renewables auction. While the pandemic and its ongoing disruption to supply chains provide credible justification, the lengthy delay is also symptomatic of a clean power buildout long on headline-grabbing targets but short on delivery. According to goals adopted in 2019, the Kingdom should have 27.3GW of renewables capacity online by next year. That goal has been put back to 2024, and the current total is less than 1GW. Nonetheless, with the economy and fiscal balances now returned to health, there are signs of renewed momentum. The second auc