Saudi Aramco gets wind power license

Saudi Arabia’s Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority has issued a wind power generation license to Saudi Aramco, state news agency SPA reported.

The license is the first of its kind, the statement said.

The state-owned oil giant commissioned the kingdom’s first wind turbine in January, supplied by US-based General Electric (GE).

The turbine will provide power to Aramco’s plant in Turaif. The project has a capacity of 2.75 megawatts (MW), enough to displace 19,000 barrels of oil every year.

In the wake of falling oil prices, Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, announced its Vision 2030 reform plan last year to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons.

Under the reforms, the kingdom plans to add 9.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewables to its energy supply by 2023, a considerable jump from 25 megawatts (MW) of installed renewable energy capacity at the end of 2015.

Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih said in January that the kingdom plans to invest between $30 billion and $50 billion in renewable energy by 2023.

The investments will be made mainly in solar and wind projects, as well as some geothermal and waste ones, Al-Falih said.