Saudi Arabia’s electricity consumption in 2023 was overwhelmingly supplied by fossil fuels, which accounted for almost 99% of the total. Gas alone supplied nearly 63%, or close to two-thirds. Low-carbon electricity contributed only about 1.4%, with solar providing roughly 1% of the total. Clean electricity therefore remained a very small part of the electricity mix, leaving substantial room to reduce the climate-changing emissions and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Saudi Arabia?

Electricity consumption per person reached a new record in 2023 at about 12,700 kWh, around 170 kWh above the previous peak in 2021—a modest increase of roughly 1.4%. Low-carbon electricity generation per person grew much faster, reaching 173 kWh compared with the previous record of 71 kWh in 2022. That increase of about 103 kWh means clean generation per person more than doubled. This is encouraging progress, although low-carbon electricity is still starting from a very small base. These figures establish growth per person rather than directly measuring growth in total national electricity consumption.

Suggestions

Saudi Arabia can accelerate clean electricity generation by expanding solar, developing nuclear power, and adding wind generation in suitable locations. The nearby United Arab Emirates offers a particularly relevant nuclear example, obtaining 20% of its electricity from nuclear power, while France demonstrates how nuclear can supply about two-thirds. For solar, Saudi Arabia can learn from sunny regions such as the US state of Nevada, where solar supplies 35% of electricity, and the US state of Arizona, where it supplies 19%. Arizona also obtains 25% from nuclear, illustrating the value of combining these clean sources. Regional wind experience is useful too: Morocco generates 20% of its electricity from wind. Drawing on these examples, Saudi Arabia could pair large-scale solar expansion with nuclear development, suitable wind projects, and stronger electricity networks to support rising demand from electrification and AI.

History

Saudi Arabia’s low-carbon electricity history shows a long period of limited progress followed by more substantial recent gains. From 2010 through 2014, solar generation recorded no annual increase at the precision shown; small additions of about 0.1 TWh followed in 2015 and 2019, with little change in the intervening years. Solar and wind both recorded no increase in 2020, before solar grew by 0.6 TWh in 2021. Wind then added 1.4 TWh in 2022, while solar was unchanged. In 2023, solar delivered the largest increase in the supplied history, adding 3.5 TWh, while wind generation remained flat. This recent solar acceleration is welcome, and sustaining growth across clean electricity sources would help turn these initial gains into a much larger low-carbon contribution.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade