Saudi Arabia: Significant Increase in New and Renewable Energy
Reports from MEES indicate that Saudi Arabia is poised to overtake its neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, as the largest source of renewable energy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries this year, 2025. This is because the total renewable energy capacity is approaching the figure of the leading GCC country in this field, the United Arab Emirates.

Renewable energy in the two countries is expected to be equal by the end of 2025, with renewable energy sources displacing more than 150,000 barrels of oil per day from the Saudi Arabian energy sector.

It is worth noting that renewable energy generation capacity in the Kingdom more than doubled to 11 terawatt-hours last year 2024, as the Kingdom added approximately 3.7 gigawatts of new solar capacity. The continued growth of renewable energy capacity in Saudi Arabia means that it is on the verge of overtaking its neighbor, the UAE, soon.

In the Kingdom, most of the renewable energy growth began toward the end of 2024, with the 2.66 GW Shuaiba complex being connected to the electricity grid in the fourth quarter of 2024. The Kingdom is working to add more than 6 GW of capacity this year, bringing the total installed capacity to 12.7 GW.

MEES estimates that the current capacity is capable of generating 19 TWh annually, and that this number will rise to 36 TWh by the end of the year.