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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Increase Reliance on Renewable Energy

Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
    Sakaka - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia Seeks to Increase Reliance on Renewable Energy

Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Jouf region, addresses the opening of the Renewable Energy Conference on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Prince Faisal bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, governor of Al-Jouf region (northern Saudi Arabia), revealed efforts to provide innovative technical solutions for the production of renewable energy with high economic efficiency, to meet energy and water needs.

Addressing the opening session of the Renewable Energy Conference at Al-Jouf University on Sunday, Prince Faisal bin Nawaf pointed to Saudi Arabia’s endeavor to address obstacles facing the use of renewable energy, stressing that the conference was aimed at raising awareness among community members on the importance to rely on clean sources of energy.

He also underlined to need to support research in order to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 in the field of energy and sustainability.

For his part, Dr. Muhammad Al-Shaya, President of Al-Jouf University, said that the region of Al-Jouf has set a strategic goal to achieve the goals of Vision 2030, by contributing to the transition towards renewable energy.

Eng. Nasser Al-Qahtani, Assistant Minister of Energy for Electricity Affairs, stated that the conference highlighted the Kingdom’s support for renewable energy projects, based on Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify energy sources.

Al-Qahtani added that Al-Jouf was home to the Kingdom’s first renewable energy projects that are connected to the electrical grid. The Sakaka solar photovoltaic project, which has a capacity of 300 megawatts, and Dumat Al-Jandal for wind energy, with a capacity of 400 megawatts, have been put into operation and connected to the public electrical grid.

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Gold on Track for Weekly Gain on Trump Uncertainty; US Jobs Report Awaited

A view shows ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk
A view shows ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk
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Gold on Track for Weekly Gain on Trump Uncertainty; US Jobs Report Awaited

A view shows ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk
A view shows ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom during production at Krastsvetmet precious metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, May 23, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk

Gold prices inched higher on Friday as uncertainty around US President-elect Donald Trump's policies firmed demand for bullion, while investors awaited a key jobs report to assess the Federal Reserve's rate cut trajectory.
Spot gold edged 0.2% higher to $2,675.49 per ounce as of 0725 GMT. Bullion has gained more than 1% so far this week, set for its highest weekly jump since mid-November. US gold futures rose 0.3% to $2,698.30.
The US non-farm payrolls report is due at 1330 GMT. According to a Reuters survey, payrolls are expected to have increased by 160,000 in December, following a jump of 227,000 in November.
"We expect gold to drop a little in case the non-farm payroll report comes on a higher side," said Jigar Trivedi, senior analyst at Reliance Securities.
"Gold found support after a weaker-than-expected private employment report for December reinforced the notion that the Fed may need to adopt a less cautious approach to rate cuts," Trivedi said.
Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid on Thursday signaled a reluctance to cut rates again as the Fed faces a resilient economy and inflation that remains above its 2% target.
Trump's proposed tariffs and immigration policies may also prolong the fight against inflation.
Traders now expect the first Fed rate cut this year in either May or June, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Gold acts as a hedge against inflation, but higher interest rates reduce the appeal of holding the bullion.
Spot silver was up 0.3% to $30.2 per ounce and the COMEX contract was trading at $31.17, both near one-month peaks.
"Our view is that the incoming US administration will tailor economic and trade policy to promote national prosperity, and that silver will recover along with gold in the second half (of 2025) to $35 per ounce," Deutsche Bank said in a note.
Platinum shed 0.4% to $955.97 and palladium added 0.9% to $934.16. All three metals were also set for weekly gains.