Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia would start working on determining the cost of cheap solar energy for the electricity production model in this month.

“The project has started to be implemented in NEOM and has come out with successful results,” he said while attending the activities of the Energy and Climate Day, organized in cooperation between the World Energy Forum and the European Union.

Prince Abdulaziz said that Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans in the area of clean energy and is working to share it with the rest of the world, as it is working to balance its uses between oil and renewable energy.

The minister had previously confirmed that the Ministerial Committee for the Restructuring of the Electricity Sector would follow up the implementation of the sector’s investments in priority projects, and the completion of the sector restructuring works, under the supervision of the Supreme Committee for Energy Mix Affairs for Electricity Production and Enabling Renewable Energy Sector.

He indicated that this would enable the production of electricity from renewable energy sources in order to achieve the objectives of the optimal energy mix for the Kingdom’s production, improve distribution networks and enhance services provided to the consumer.

It is noteworthy that earlier last month the Ministry of Energy announced its readiness to work on installing small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, which allow consumers to produce solar-based electrical energy from their homes or establishments, and connect it to the transmission systems of the Kingdom’s national power grid.

The ministry said that the economic feasibility of installing a small solar PV system would be studied while determining the estimated costs and procedures for safe connection to the network, and the approved specifications for this type of system.