Saudi Arabia Starts Allocating Land for Renewable Energy Projects

Saudi Arabia works to achieve the optimal mix of electricity production and the reliance on renewable energy. (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Saudi Arabia works to achieve the optimal mix of electricity production and the reliance on renewable energy. (Asharq Al-Awsat).
TT

Saudi Arabia Starts Allocating Land for Renewable Energy Projects

Saudi Arabia works to achieve the optimal mix of electricity production and the reliance on renewable energy. (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Saudi Arabia works to achieve the optimal mix of electricity production and the reliance on renewable energy. (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Saudi Arabia, represented by the Ministry of Energy, announced on Thursday the allocation of two plots of 12 million square meters for the development of two renewable energy plants in Saudi cities, within a strategy to diversify the energy mix.

The Kingdom revealed a project to build a plant with a capacity of 600 megawatts in the Jeddah 3rd Industrial City and the Rabigh Industrial City through the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon).

The Kingdom aims to achieve the optimal mix of energy - the most efficient and the least expensive in the production of electricity - by replacing liquid fuels with natural gas, in addition to renewable energy sources, which will constitute approximately 50 percent of the energy mix for electricity production by 2030.

Under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman recently inaugurated the Sakaka solar power plant project, with a production capacity of 300 megawatts.

The ministry explained that the National Renewable Energy Program constituted one of the main enablers to achieve the optimal energy mix and the strategic objectives of the electricity sector by creating a competitive environment that would attract private sector investments and encourage partnerships between the public and private sectors.

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) provides products and services to its investing partners to promote renewable energy projects in the Kingdom.

The ministry worked with the authority to provide the necessary lands for these projects within a number of industrial cities, including the Jeddah 3rd Industrial City and the Rabigh Industrial City.



Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
TT

Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices were up slightly on Friday on stronger-than-expected US economic data that raised investor expectations for increasing crude oil demand from the world's largest energy consumer.

But concerns about soft economic conditions in Asia's biggest economies, China and Japan, capped gains.

Brent crude futures for September rose 7 cents to $82.44 a barrel by 0014 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for September increased 4 cents to $78.32 per barrel, Reuters reported.

In the second quarter, the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised rate of 2.8% as consumers spent more and businesses increased investments, Commerce Department data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted US gross domestic product would grow by 2.0% over the period.

At the same time, inflation pressures eased, which kept intact expectations that the Federal Reserve would move forward with a September interest rate cut. Lower interest rates tend to boost economic activity, which can spur oil demand.

Still, continued signs of trouble in parts of Asia limited oil price gains.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital were up 2.2% in July from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, raising market expectations of an interest rate hike in the near term.

But an index that strips away energy costs, seen as a better gauge of underlying price trends, rose at the slowest annual pace in nearly two years, suggesting that price hikes are moderating due to soft consumption.

China, the world's biggest crude importer, surprised markets for a second time this week by conducting an unscheduled lending operation on Thursday at steeply lower rates, suggesting authorities are trying to provide heavier monetary stimulus to prop up the economy.