Transitioning to renewable energy in Saudi Arabia - A multi-level perspective analysis of the Saudi renewable energy policies

Abstract

This thesis has assessed the national political context and factors shaping Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy policies through a multi-level perspective analysis. Key barriers and drivers to the implementation of renewable energy has been identified an. Unsustainable domestic energy consumption is eating into oil reserves that could have been exported, thus incurring a huge opportunity cost and economic burden. If left unchecked, domestic energy consumption will outgrow domestic energy generation capacity, and thus force Saudi Arabia to import oil in the near future. Domestic energy consumption is further creating huge GHG emissions, contributing to climate change and environmental damage which is predicted to render Saudi Arabia uninhabitable in few years. The rationale to become more sustainable is apparent and the Saudi government has consequently decided to implement renewable energy into their energy mix, envisioning a green and clean energy future. There are however multiple barriers to the spread of renewables in the country, as seen in the system of double subsidies which locks in the oil-based energy system and locks out renewable energy. Missing legal and regulatory framework deters investors and impedes funding. A weak innovation culture, and lack of a skilled workforce and knowledge base hinders a successful development, manufacturing and implementation process, while the job creation potential is a promising, but under exploited opportunity to reduce the huge unemployment problem in Saudi Arabia. Governmental policy documents and official discourse show an awareness and intent to solve these problems however, with concrete initiatives aimed at increasing feasibility of renewable energy deployment. The political system constitutes a bureaucratic barrier to a wide-spread implementation, but so-called ‘islands of efficiency’ like the national oil company Saudi Aramco and ambitious senior royal figures can drive the development. The short-term governance effect of implementing renewables might be small, but in the long-term, Saudi Arabia could experience changes in the political balance and the state-society relations as it will be increasingly difficult to reproduce the rentier state through renewable energy.