The Middle East will invest $75.63 billion in renewable energy projects by 2030, according to a new report released today by the Energy Industries Council, a trade association for energy suppliers worldwide.
This investment includes 116 renewable energy projects expected to be operational between 2025 and 2030, according to the Council's DataStream database. These projects include solar, onshore wind, hydro, hydrogen, carbon capture, utilization and storage, geothermal, and energy storage and batteries.
The region is expected to see major solar and wind projects implemented by 2030, in addition to increasing carbon capture and hydrogen initiatives.
While clean energy investment in the region has increased significantly, the International Energy Agency expects that 20 percent of energy investment in the Middle East will go to renewables, with the majority of the money spent on oil and gas.
The region remains a global powerhouse in conventional fuel production, supported by abundant gas reserves and competitive prices, and is expected to continue to play a critical role as a transitional energy source.
The dual strategy of investing in renewable energy projects while strengthening conventional energy infrastructure reflects the specificity of the region's transition process, according to Aqila Noor Shahruddin, author of the report.
"It is natural that most of the spending is in oil and gas, but we are also seeing clean energy technologies such as hydrogen, solar, wind and carbon capture. So the region is trying to strike a balance between ensuring clean energy production and maintaining the region's dominance in global oil and gas markets," she said.
The report notes that while large-scale solar projects, such as the fifth phase of the Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Solar Park, are making significant progress, challenges remain in developing onshore wind due to high equipment costs and grid capacity constraints.
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