Saudi Arabia's power consumption

Saudi oil production is increasing

When it comes to expanding infrastructure, power is key and countries all over the Middle East are feeling the pressure. Previously, MENA Infrastructure reported how Abu Dhabi was investing US$2 billion into building more power plants, but now comes news that Saudi Arabia's power consumption is using 10 percent of its daily oil production capacity.

What is even more worrying for the Kingdom is that they have long predicted that by 2032, their energy consumption will triple. As energy production already uses 877,000 barrels of oil a day, alarm bells must be ringing for the Saudi government, and surely investing in more forms of renewable energy would be a priority for the power industry.

According to Abdullah al Shehry, governor of the Electricity and Co-generation Regulatory Authority, 320 million barrels of crude are used to generate power every year in the Kingdom. If plans to increase power consumption go ahead, then Shehri has said that this would require up to 900 million barrels of crude oil per year.

Alternate options

Saudi Arabia has always held firm against renewable energy, opting instead to spend US$170 billion over the next five years on energy and oil refining efforts, despite green technologies doing well in terms of market shares.

Saudi Aramco, the country's state-owned oil company, has even been quoted as saying it is "unrealistic" for Saudi Arabia to invest heavily into alternative energy sources when its 'cash cow' is essentially its oil wealth.

However, the Kingdom can't get away from the fact that electricity demand is rising at an annual rate of eight percent and simply using more and more oil isn't a long-term solution.

Despite initial plans to install solar plants in the region, it is still small-scale though there have been plans mention to increase solar output to 10 percent by 2020. In Saudi Arabia, households account for 53 percent of power consumption, the industrial sector 18 percent and government bodies 14 percent.

It seems if Saudi Arabia doesn't seek to curb its energy consumption, then they are going to have to reasonably invest in renewable energy, such as at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). If not, the Kingdom could suffer a power crisis over the next decade.

Relevant articles:

The largest solar power project in Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia's $209m power shortage | Egypt's solar power plans

Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

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