Saudi to become largest MidEast wind power market by 2020s: Wood Mackenzie

Saudi Arabia will become a regional heavyweight in wind power by the early 2020's, a research by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables has noted.

According to the report, developers will build 6.2 GW of wind capacity – 46 percent of the region’s total wind capacity addition – between 2019 and 2028.

Also read: Saudi Arabia awards first $500 mln wind power project deal

"The integration of renewables in Vision 2030’s objectives underlines strong political commitment within Saudi Arabia. The level of Saudi ambition for wind and solar PV varies significantly, despite the cost parity between both technologies during the first round of tenders in 2018,” Sohaib Malik, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables Senior Analyst, said.

The report added the outlook for solar PV in the Middle East, when compared to wind, is much more positive – boasting an ideal environment for development.

“Compared to only 6GW of wind power capacity, developers will add 53GW of PV capacity through 2024. Solar PV has become a natural choice for many countries in the region, which is endowed with world class solar energy resources,” said Malik, adding that the increased focus on solar energy is demonstrated by ambitious PV targets across the region.

“As the countries with stable macroeconomic outlooks began auctioning larger projects (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE), developers offered some of the world’s lowest solar PV tariffs. As such, it will become increasingly difficult for wind to compete with PV in low wind countries including Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates,” he further added.