Saudi Targets Lowest Cost of Electricity Globally Through Solar Energy Project

Solar panels. File photo

Riyadh: Mohammed al-Hamidi

10:43-26 June 2020 AD ـ 06 Thul-Qi’dah 1441 AH

Riyadh: Mohammed al-Hamidi

10:43-26 June 2020 AD ـ 06 Thul-Qi’dah 1441 AH

Saudi Targets Lowest Cost of Electricity Globally Through Solar Energy Project

Solar panels. File photo

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman revealed that the Kingdom is shifting closer to activating energy efficiency programs and applications at an intensified rate.

He also disclosed that the solar energy file will be activated to give the Kingdom the lead in terms of the lowest-cost per kilowatt of electricity.

Saudi Arabia will “very soon” be announcing a solar project that will take the lead in terms of the lowest-cost per kilowatt of electricity, the energy minister said during the “Don’t Forget Our Planet” virtual event organized by the Future Investment Institute (FII) to address environmental sustainability.

The Kingdom will produce 50 percent of electricity from renewables by 2030, Prince Abdulaziz added, stressing that Saudi Arabia is also planning to expand wind energy.

In March 2018, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a memorandum of understanding with SoftBank to build the 200-gigawatt solar project in Saudi Arabia by 2030.

“I can assure you that Saudi Arabia will not only be the last producer, but Saudi Arabia will produce every molecule of hydrocarbon and it will put it to good use, and it will be done in a most environmentally sound and more sustainable way. I am willing to say that by 2050, we will be the last and the biggest producer of hydrocarbon,” the energy minister said.

He reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the concept of the circular carbon economy, which seeks to remove carbon emissions from the environment via a mixture of recycling and removing harmful pollutants, as well as sophisticated technology to remove emissions from the industrial process.

“We are trying to lead by example, and we are putting our money where our mouth is,” he said.

He highlighted Saudi projects in energy efficiency, solar power generation, and renewables that aim to generate half of its electricity from non-hydrocarbon sources by 2030. “We have a leadership that values sustainability,” he added.

The minister was speaking on a panel with other energy leaders, discussing the challenges and opportunities presented by recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump Hits Back at Canada after Retaliatory Tariffs Announcement

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on August 22, 2026 shows US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on July 13, 2026 and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on August 22, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB and Dave Chan / AFP)

Washington: Asharq Al Awsat

09:05-23 August 2026 AD ـ 10 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Washington: Asharq Al Awsat

09:05-23 August 2026 AD ـ 10 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Trump Hits Back at Canada after Retaliatory Tariffs Announcement

US President Donald Trump hit back at Canada on Sunday after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States following a breakdown in trade negotiations.

"Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!!" he said.

Carney said Saturday that new Canadian tariffs would take effect on September 8, notably targeting the US steel and dairy industries.

New 50-percent US tariffs impacting about $20 billion worth of goods, or 5.5 percent of Canadian exports to the US, came into force Saturday.

Trump had previously said Washington "should be able to have a deal with Canada," citing his "good relationship" with Carney.

But on Saturday, Canada's prime minister said Trump set conditions that were ultimately unacceptable even though earlier talks had been positive.

"In recent days, the United States proposed new terms that were uneconomic, unfair and undermined the net benefits for Canada, and called into question the reliability of any deal," Carney said in Ottawa.

"We cannot accept what they've offered, and we will not give what they've asked."

Business

Alibaba Proposes Hong Kong Share Placement Worth $10 Billion

FILE PHOTO: People visit an Alibaba booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo/File Photo

Asharq Al Awsat

06:50-23 August 2026 AD ـ 10 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

06:50-23 August 2026 AD ـ 10 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Alibaba Proposes Hong Kong Share Placement Worth $10 Billion

FILE PHOTO: People visit an Alibaba booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo/File Photo

China's Alibaba announced on Sunday a proposed placement of new shares in Hong Kong.

The aggregate placement consideration is HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion), the company added, according to Reuters.

Alibaba said the ⁠deal would mark ⁠the largest-ever primary follow-on offering by a Hong Kong-listed company and the biggest Regulation S ⁠equity offering on record, while ranking as the world's third-largest primary follow-on share sale this year after Alphabet and Intel.

The company said it intends to use 100% of the net ⁠proceeds from ⁠the placement to invest in its full stack AI capabilities, including expanding and enhancing its AI infrastructure.

Business

South Korea Sends 1st Container Ship Through Arctic Route

The container ship 'Panstar Acoro,' bound for Europe via the Arctic, docks at Busan port in South Korea on August 22, 2026 (Yonhap News Agency via Reuters)

Asharq Al Awsat

05:38-23 August 2026 AD ـ 10 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

05:38-23 August 2026 AD ـ 10 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

South Korea Sends 1st Container Ship Through Arctic Route

The container ship 'Panstar Acoro,' bound for Europe via the Arctic, docks at Busan port in South Korea on August 22, 2026 (Yonhap News Agency via Reuters)

South Korea sent its first trial container ship through the Arctic on Saturday, as the Middle East war rattles global shipping, while environmental groups warned the route could accelerate polar ice melt.

The Middle East conflict, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, has roiled global shipping, sending governments and shipping firms scrambling to seek alternative routes.

Sailing from Busan New Port, the "PanStar Acro" container ship is to sail to Europe via the Arctic, testing whether a route opened by melting sea ice can be commercially viable.

"We would like to inform you that the vessel for the Arctic route trial voyage departed" at 9:30 pm (1230 GMT), Seoul's oceans ministry said in a statement sent to AFP.

The ship is headed for Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Gdansk in Poland before returning, with the voyage expected to take about 45 days, according to the ministry.

The voyage follows that of the Chinese container ship "Dubai Tower", which left the eastern port city of Ningbo for Europe this month, heading north through the Bering Strait before turning west along Russia's Arctic coast.

The usual maritime route between Asia and Europe runs through the Suez Canal, but travelling through the Arctic can cut the journey by around 7,000 kilometers (4,300 miles) and about 10 days, according to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.

South Korea's Vice Oceans Minister Nam Jae-hon said the Arctic route was "bound to become an alternative" to Middle Eastern shipping lanes -- as geopolitical risks and technological advances make it increasingly competitive.

Marc Lanteigne, a political science professor at the Arctic University of Norway, said the voyage -- coming soon after China's "Dubai Tower" began its own Arctic journey -- showed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) was becoming normalized as a "secondary maritime transit corridor".

A successful voyage would demonstrate South Korea's interest in "developing alternative shipping sea lanes", he told AFP, with concerns that it could fall behind as Chinese firms expand regular services through the increasingly viable Arctic route.

Some experts warn South Korean ships using the Arctic route could risk breaching Western sanctions on Russia -- currently a key security ally of North Korea -- as they would receive Russian navigation and weather services involving payments, albeit small ones.

South Korea's foreign ministry declined to comment when asked by AFP about the concerns involving Russia.

The oceans ministry said this week that "consultations with key relevant countries and agencies" have been completed to "implement administrative procedures necessary" for the voyage.

Vladimir Tikhonov, Korean Studies professor at the University of Oslo, said "strictly speaking, US and EU sanctions are not international law, unlike UN sanctions".

"And with continued uncertainty in the Middle East... South Korea may have few alternatives if the Arctic route proves economically viable," he told AFP.

Lanteigne said China's Northern Sea Route ambitions were more politically driven than South Korea's, with Beijing viewing the polar regions as "strategic new frontiers", raising Western security concerns.

Meanwhile, environmental groups warned growing traffic along the shorter NSR could accelerate Arctic sea ice loss already driven by global warming.

Major carriers including CMA CGM, MSC and Hapag-Lloyd have pledged to avoid Arctic shipping routes.

The NSR is believed to be accessible only during the time of year when the ice is melted enough to allow transits without icebreakers.

"The Northern Sea Route has become increasingly viable as the Arctic warms about four times faster than the global average, leading to a sharp decline in sea ice," South Korean environmental group Paran Ocean Citizen Science Center said in a statement last year.

"But making the route commercially viable would require further warming, putting the policy at odds with efforts to combat climate change."

Saudi Targets Lowest Cost of Electricity Globally Through Solar Energy Project

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