IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v17y2015i4p859-886.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Renewable energy in Saudi Arabia: current status and future potentials

Author

Listed:
  • Iskander Tlili

Abstract

The energy future must be accessible, affordable and mainly sustainable. Actually, there is an increased demand for energy worldwide, and 80 % of the present energy use is based on fossil fuels. Not only are oil prices increasing but also pollution continues to rise due to the burning of fossil fuels, and the probability of oil supply depletion remains. A critical part of the solution will lie in promoting renewable energy technologies in order to address concerns about energy security, economic growth in the face of high prices of crude oil, competitiveness, health costs and environmental degradation. All of these issues encourage the investigation of using renewable energy, which has several unique advantages that should be considered when making comparison with oil-based alternatives. Besides, achieving sustainable development is a target that is now widely recognized as important to humankind. In this context, the utilization of renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and geothermal energy appears to be one of the most efficient and effective ways of achieving this goal since renewable energy is abundant universally and holds huge ecological and economic promise. Although the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the world’s major producer and exporter of fuel, and represents one of the biggest consumers of petroleum in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia should be interested in taking an active part in the development and exploitation of renewable energy technologies. In fact, the unsustainable use of fossil fuels and the activities which are mainly responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions are consistently in the upslope. That is why Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to contribute in renewable energy research through major joint international cooperation programs, despite the fact that it occupies a very advanced rank in the world in terms of huge proven oil and gas reserves. This paper describes the current status of energy and focuses on renewable and energy-efficient technologies, major achievements, and current government policies and challenges. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Iskander Tlili, 2015. "Renewable energy in Saudi Arabia: current status and future potentials," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 859-886, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:17:y:2015:i:4:p:859-886
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-014-9579-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10668-014-9579-9
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-014-9579-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alnatheer, Othman, 2006. "Environmental benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy in Saudi Arabia's electric sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 2-10, January.
    2. Kinab, E. & Elkhoury, M., 2012. "Renewable energy use in Lebanon: Barriers and solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4422-4431.
    3. Alawaji, Saleh H., 2001. "Evaluation of solar energy research and its applications in Saudi Arabia -- 20 years of experience," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 59-77, March.
    4. Mohammed, Y.S. & Mustafa, M.W. & Bashir, N. & Mokhtar, A.S., 2013. "Renewable energy resources for distributed power generation in Nigeria: A review of the potential," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 257-268.
    5. Reiche, Danyel, 2010. "Energy Policies of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries--possibilities and limitations of ecological modernization in rentier states," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 2395-2403, May.
    6. Yousef Alyousef, 2012. "Energy Efficiency Initiatives for Saudi Arabia on Supply and Demand Sides," Chapters, in: Zoran Morvaj (ed.), Energy Efficiency - A Bridge to Low Carbon Economy, IntechOpen.
    7. Huraib, F.S. & Hasnain, S.M. & Alawaji, S.H., 1996. "Lessons learned from solar energy projects in Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 1144-1147.
    8. Alshaibani, Khalid, 2001. "Potentiality of daylighting in a maritime desert climate: the Eastern coast of Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 325-331.
    9. Kanase-Patil, A.B. & Saini, R.P. & Sharma, M.P., 2010. "Integrated renewable energy systems for off grid rural electrification of remote area," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 1342-1349.
    10. Zuhairy, Akram A. & Sayigh, A.A.M., 1995. "Simulation and modeling of solar radiation in Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 107-118.
    11. Al-Ajlan, S.A. & Al-Ibrahim, A.M. & Abdulkhaleq, M. & Alghamdi, F., 2006. "Developing sustainable energy policies for electrical energy conservation in Saudi Arabia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(13), pages 1556-1565, September.
    12. Shaahid, S.M. & Elhadidy, M.A., 1994. "Wind and solar energy at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 441-445.
    13. Rehman, Shafiqur, 2005. "Prospects of wind farm development in Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 447-463.
    14. El Fadel, M. & Rachid, G. & El-Samra, R. & Bou Boutros, G. & Hashisho, J., 2013. "Knowledge management mapping and gap analysis in renewable energy: Towards a sustainable framework in developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 576-584.
    15. del Río, Pablo & Burguillo, Mercedes, 2009. "An empirical analysis of the impact of renewable energy deployment on local sustainability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1314-1325, August.
    16. Varun & Prakash, Ravi & Bhat, Inder Krishnan, 2009. "Energy, economics and environmental impacts of renewable energy systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2716-2721, December.
    17. Al-Ayed, M.S. & Al-Dhafiri, A.M. & Bin Mahfoodh, M., 1998. "Global, direct and diffuse solar irradiance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 249-254.
    18. Junginger, M. & Faaij, A. & Turkenburg, W. C., 2005. "Global experience curves for wind farms," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 133-150, January.
    19. Baños, R. & Manzano-Agugliaro, F. & Montoya, F.G. & Gil, C. & Alcayde, A. & Gómez, J., 2011. "Optimization methods applied to renewable and sustainable energy: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 1753-1766, May.
    20. Al-Abbadi, Naif M., 2005. "Wind energy resource assessment for five locations in Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 1489-1499.
    21. Shaahid, S.M. & El-Amin, I., 2009. "Techno-economic evaluation of off-grid hybrid photovoltaic-diesel-battery power systems for rural electrification in Saudi Arabia--A way forward for sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 625-633, April.
    22. Menegaki, Angeliki N., 2012. "A social marketing mix for renewable energy in Europe based on consumer stated preference surveys," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 30-39.
    23. Alawaji, S.H. & Eugenio, N.N. & Elani, U.A., 1996. "Wind energy resource assessment in Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 818-821.
    24. Rehman, Shafiqur & Al-Hadhrami, Luai M., 2010. "Study of a solar PV–diesel–battery hybrid power system for a remotely located population near Rafha, Saudi Arabia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 4986-4995.
    25. Himri, Y. & Malik, Arif S. & Boudghene Stambouli, A. & Himri, S. & Draoui, B., 2009. "Review and use of the Algerian renewable energy for sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(6-7), pages 1584-1591, August.
    26. Rehman, S & Halawani, T.O & Mohandes, M, 2003. "Wind power cost assessment at twenty locations in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 573-583.
    27. Gately, Dermot & Al-Yousef, Nourah & Al-Sheikh, Hamad M.H., 2012. "The rapid growth of domestic oil consumption in Saudi Arabia and the opportunity cost of oil exports foregone," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 57-68.
    28. Alnatheer, Othman, 2005. "The potential contribution of renewable energy to electricity supply in Saudi Arabia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(18), pages 2298-2312, December.
    29. Tolón-Becerra, A. & Lastra-Bravo, X. & Bienvenido-Bárcena, F., 2011. "Proposal for territorial distribution of the EU 2020 political renewable energy goal," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 2067-2077.
    30. Calvert, K. & Pearce, J.M. & Mabee, W.E., 2013. "Toward renewable energy geo-information infrastructures: Applications of GIScience and remote sensing that build institutional capacity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 416-429.
    31. Panwar, N.L. & Kaushik, S.C. & Kothari, Surendra, 2011. "Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1513-1524, April.
    32. Al-Karaghouli, Ali & Renne, David & Kazmerski, Lawrence L., 2009. "Solar and wind opportunities for water desalination in the Arab regions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2397-2407, December.
    33. Mansouri, Noura Y. & Crookes, Roy J. & Korakianitis, Theodosios, 2013. "A projection of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in the electricity sector for Saudi Arabia: The case for carbon capture and storage and solar photovoltaics," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 681-695.
    34. Ibrahim, Said M.A., 1984. "Energy in the Arab world," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 217-238.
    35. Rehman, Shafiqur & Ahmad, Aftab, 2004. "Assessment of wind energy potential for coastal locations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 1105-1115.
    36. Manzano-Agugliaro, F. & Alcayde, A. & Montoya, F.G. & Zapata-Sierra, A. & Gil, C., 2013. "Scientific production of renewable energies worldwide: An overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 134-143.
    37. Lund, P.D., 2009. "Effects of energy policies on industry expansion in renewable energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 53-64.
    38. Martin, Nigel J. & Rice, John L., 2012. "Developing renewable energy supply in Queensland, Australia: A study of the barriers, targets, policies and actions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 119-127.
    39. El-Sebaii, A.A. & Al-Hazmi, F.S. & Al-Ghamdi, A.A. & Yaghmour, S.J., 2010. "Global, direct and diffuse solar radiation on horizontal and tilted surfaces in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 568-576, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ismaila Rimi Abubakar & Umar Lawal Dano, 2020. "Sustainable urban planning strategies for mitigating climate change in Saudi Arabia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5129-5152, August.
    2. Norhan Bayomi & John E. Fernandez, 2019. "Towards Sustainable Energy Trends in the Middle East: A Study of Four Major Emitters," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Manal Ayyad Dhif Alshammry & Saqib Muneer, 2023. "The influence of economic development, capital formation, and internet use on environmental degradation in Saudi Arabia," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Paulino Martinez-Fernandez & Fernando deLlano-Paz & Anxo Calvo-Silvosa & Isabel Soares, 2018. "Pollutant versus non-pollutant generation technologies: a CML-analogous analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 199-212, December.
    5. Abda Emam, 2022. "Present and future: Does agriculture affect economic growth and the environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 68(10), pages 380-392.
    6. Fahad Saleh Al-Ismail & Md Shafiul Alam & Md Shafiullah & Md Ismail Hossain & Syed Masiur Rahman, 2023. "Impacts of Renewable Energy Generation on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Saudi Arabia: A Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Anas A. Makki & Ibrahim Mosly, 2020. "Factors Affecting Public Willingness to Adopt Renewable Energy Technologies: An Exploratory Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-11, January.
    8. Panait, Mirela & Apostu, Simona Andreea & Vasile, Valentina & Vasile, Razvan, 2022. "Is energy efficiency a robust driver for the new normal development model? A Granger causality analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    9. Saghi Raeisdanaei & Vahid Pirouzfar & Chia-Hung Su, 2022. "Technical and economic assessment of processes for the LNG production in cycles with expander and refrigeration," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(11), pages 13407-13425, November.
    10. Khalid Alrashoud & Koji Tokimatsu, 2019. "Factors Influencing Social Perception of Residential Solar Photovoltaic Systems in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-22, September.
    11. Shuai, Jing & Zhao, Yujia & Wang, Yilan & Cheng, Jinhua, 2022. "Renewable energy product competitiveness: Evidence from the United States, China and India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    12. Tlili, I. & Vakkar, Ali, 2020. "Thermodynamic analysis and optimization of solar thermal engine: Performance enhancement," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 540(C).
    13. Al-Sharafi, Abdullah & Sahin, Ahmet Z. & Ayar, Tahir & Yilbas, Bekir S., 2017. "Techno-economic analysis and optimization of solar and wind energy systems for power generation and hydrogen production in Saudi Arabia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 33-49.
    14. Abdulaziz Alanazi & Mohana Alanazi, 2023. "Multicriteria Decision-Making for Evaluating Solar Energy Source of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-37, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hepbasli, Arif & Alsuhaibani, Zeyad, 2011. "A key review on present status and future directions of solar energy studies and applications in Saudi Arabia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(9), pages 5021-5050.
    2. Ramli, Makbul A.M. & Twaha, Ssennoga & Al-Hamouz, Zakariya, 2017. "Analyzing the potential and progress of distributed generation applications in Saudi Arabia: The case of solar and wind resources," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 287-297.
    3. Rahman, Syed Masiur & Khondaker, A.N., 2012. "Mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon capture and storage in Saudi Arabia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 2446-2460.
    4. Abdul Mujeebu, Muhammad & Alshamrani, Othman Subhi, 2016. "Prospects of energy conservation and management in buildings – The Saudi Arabian scenario versus global trends," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1647-1663.
    5. Ahmad, Ali & Ramana, M.V., 2014. "Too costly to matter: Economics of nuclear power for Saudi Arabia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 682-694.
    6. Alyami, Saleh. H. & Rezgui, Yacine & Kwan, Alan, 2013. "Developing sustainable building assessment scheme for Saudi Arabia: Delphi consultation approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 43-54.
    7. Kolesnik, Sergei & Sitbon, Moshe & Gadelovits, Shlomo & Suntio, Teuvo & Kuperman, Alon, 2015. "Interfacing renewable energy sources for maximum power transfer—Part II: Dynamics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1771-1783.
    8. Ramli, Makbul A.M. & Bouchekara, H.R.E.H. & Alghamdi, Abdulsalam S., 2018. "Optimal sizing of PV/wind/diesel hybrid microgrid system using multi-objective self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 400-411.
    9. Manzano-Agugliaro, F. & Alcayde, A. & Montoya, F.G. & Zapata-Sierra, A. & Gil, C., 2013. "Scientific production of renewable energies worldwide: An overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 134-143.
    10. Yip, Chak Man Andrew & Gunturu, Udaya Bhaskar & Stenchikov, Georgiy L., 2016. "Wind resource characterization in the Arabian Peninsula," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 826-836.
    11. Gadelovits, Shlomo & Kuperman, Alon & Sitbon, Moshe & Aharon, Ilan & Singer, Sigmond, 2014. "Interfacing renewable energy sources for maximum power transfer—Part I: Statics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 501-508.
    12. Eltamaly, Ali M., 2013. "Design and implementation of wind energy system in Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 42-52.
    13. Akikur, R.K. & Saidur, R. & Ping, H.W. & Ullah, K.R., 2013. "Comparative study of stand-alone and hybrid solar energy systems suitable for off-grid rural electrification: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 738-752.
    14. Shafiqur Rehman & Md. Mahbub Alam & Luai M. Alhems & M. Mujahid Rafique, 2018. "Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Blade Design Methodologies for Efficiency Enhancement—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-34, February.
    15. Ramli, Makbul A.M. & Hiendro, Ayong & Al-Turki, Yusuf A., 2016. "Techno-economic energy analysis of wind/solar hybrid system: Case study for western coastal area of Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 374-385.
    16. Abdmouleh, Zeineb & Alammari, Rashid A.M. & Gastli, Adel, 2015. "Recommendations on renewable energy policies for the GCC countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1181-1191.
    17. Motasemi, F. & Afzal, Muhammad T., 2013. "A review on the microwave-assisted pyrolysis technique," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 317-330.
    18. Yahya Z. Alharthi & Mahbube K. Siddiki & Ghulam M. Chaudhry, 2018. "Resource Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis of a Grid-Connected Solar PV-Wind Hybrid System for Different Locations in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, October.
    19. Nithya Saiprasad & Akhtar Kalam & Aladin Zayegh, 2019. "Triple Bottom Line Analysis and Optimum Sizing of Renewable Energy Using Improved Hybrid Optimization Employing the Genetic Algorithm: A Case Study from India," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-23, January.
    20. Jha, Sunil Kr. & Bilalovic, Jasmin & Jha, Anju & Patel, Nilesh & Zhang, Han, 2017. "Renewable energy: Present research and future scope of Artificial Intelligence," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 297-317.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:17:y:2015:i:4:p:859-886. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.