Saudi Arabia confirms support for sustainable energy future: Official

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Nasser Al-Qahtani, Assistant Minister of Energy for Electricity Affairs, said Saudi Arabia reaffirms its support for the future of sustainable energy through pioneering energy storage projects.

During his participation in a high-level roundtable on renewable energy, hydrogen, and electrical grids at COP29 conference, Al-Qahtani said a project for hydroelectric energy storage in Wadi Bish with a capacity of 8 gigawatt-hours was launched.

He also added that the Kingdom is developing one of the world’s largest carbon capture centers in Jubail, with a capacity of 9 million tons annually by 2027, and plans to reach 44 million tons by 2035.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia is working on current projects for carbon capture and storage with a capacity of 1.3 million tons annually, Al-Qahtani said.

The Kingdom is also establishing 13 projects for battery energy storage systems, with a total capacity of 26 gigawatt-hours, and four projects under construction to reach 48 gigawatt-hours by 2030, the official noted.

He highlighted the launch of the first underground gas storage facility with a capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day, with plans to double this capacity to achieve an energy mix of approximately 50% gas and 50% renewable energy by 2030.