Middle Eastern Countries Set Goals to Accelerate the Energy Transition

With the rapid transformation of the global energy structure to a sustainable direction, Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman are increasing their attention and investment in the renewable energy sector. Through the “Vision 2030″ strategy, Saudi Arabia has set renewable energy development targets since 2016, and has repeatedly increased the scale of the target, from the initial target of 9.5GW in 2023 to the ambitious blueprint of 130GW by 2030, while committing to add 20GW projects per year to accelerate the transition process.

For the UAE, the National Energy Strategy 2050 and its subsequent update, published in 2017, clearly define the long-term national goal of generating 50% of electricity from renewable sources by 2050, and achieving a significant increase in installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, which is planned to increase from the current level to 14.2GW. At the same time, we will promote the proportion of clean energy in total energy consumption to 30%, so as to promote the diversification and greening of the energy structure.

Oman has also actively responded to the global energy transition trend, setting a target of 30% renewable energy generation by 2030, demonstrating its commitment to promoting the transformation of the energy structure and promoting sustainable development.

From the perspective of module exports, according to the latest data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, in the first half of 2024, although Europe continues to be the largest export market for Chinese photovoltaic modules, its market share has shown a significant downward trend. At the same time, Pakistan has rapidly risen to become the second largest export destination for Chinese photovoltaic modules. Notably, the Saudi Arabian market has shown strong growth momentum and is among the top five. This positive trend is mainly due to the Middle East region, especially the government of Saudi Arabia, the strong policy support for the development of renewable energy, which has stimulated the strong demand for photovoltaic products, and opened up a broader market for Chinese photovoltaic companies.