ENERGY PROFILE
Total Energy Supply (TES) 2016 2021
Non-renewable (TJ) 9 976 501 10 949 330
Renewable (TJ) 552 11 618
Total (TJ) 9 977 053 10 960 948
Renewable share (%) 0 0
Growth in TES 2016-21 2020-21
Non-renewable (%) +9.8 +16.0
Renewable (%) +2005.9 +152.5
Total (%) +9.9 +16.0
Primary energy trade 2016 2021
Imports (TJ) 1 193 974 814 444
Exports (TJ) 19 916 261 16 345 124
Net trade (TJ) 18 722 287 15 530 680
Imports (% of supply) 12 7
Exports (% of production) 69 61
Energy self-sufficiency (%) 287 243
Saudi Arabia
COUNTRY INDICATORS AND SDGS
TOTAL ENERGY SUPPLY (TES)
Total energy supply in 2021
Renewable energy supply in 2021
59%
40%
0%
0%
Oil
Gas
Nuclear
Coal + others
Renewables
49%
48%
3%
Hydro/marine
Wind
Solar
Bioenergy
Geothermal
100%
100%
0%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
7.1.1 Access to electricity (% population)
7.1.2 Access to clean cooking (% population)
7.2.1 Renewable energy (% TFEC)
55.8
58.5
58.3
57.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2016 2017 2018 2019
PM
2.5
(μm/m
3
)
Urban Average Rural WHO safe
11.6.2 Air particulate matter (PM
2.5
)
49.6
7.4%
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
-6%
-4%
-2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
USD'000s 2021 PPP
GDP per capita 8.1.1 Real GDP growth rate
0
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
USD millions 2019
7.a.1 Public flows to renewables
7.3.1 Energy intensity
5.8
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
6.0
6.1
6.2
6.3
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
MJ/USD GDP 2021 PPP
7.b.1 Per capita renewable capacity
12.2
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10
12
14
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
W/ person
Consumption by sector 2016 2021
Industry (TJ) 37 1 990
Transport (TJ) 0 0
Households (TJ) 434 5 154
Other (TJ) 247 9 381
Non-renewable 88 690 97
Renewable 2 988 3
Hydro/marine 0 0
Solar 2 585 3
Wind 403 0
Bioenergy 0 0
Geothermal 0 0
Total 91 679 100
Capacity change (%) 2018-23 2022-23
Non-renewable + 15 + 6.7
Renewable + 3 320 + 254.5
Hydro/marine 0 0.0
Solar + 2 964 + 487.8
Wind + 13 333 0.0
Bioenergy 0 0.0
Geothermal 0 0.0
Total + 19 + 9.2
Solar
+ 2 146
Bioenergy
0
Wind
0
0
Renewable capacity in 2023
Non-renewable
Installed capacity trend
Capacity utilisation in 2022 (%)
Renewable energy consumption in 2021
Renewable TFEC trend
0
Net capacity change (GW)
Net capacity change in 2023 (MW)
RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSUMPTION (TFEC)
ELECTRICITY CAPACITY
+ 5 600
Hydro and marine
Geothermal
12%
31%
57%
Industry
Transport
Households
Other
- 3.5
- 0.6
3.3
3.4
0.1
5.6
0.1
0.0
0.3
0.0
0.4
2.1
- 4
- 2
0
2
4
6
8
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Fossil fuels Renewable
89%
32%
56%
0 20 40 60 80 100
Geothermal
Bioenergy
Wind
Solar
Hydro/Marine
Nuclear
Fossil fuels
87%
13%
Hydro/marine
Solar
Wind
Bioenergy
Geothermal
1
1
3
7
8
17
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Petajoules (PJ)
Electricity Commercial heat Bioenergy Geothermal Solar direct
75
81
77
76
80
83
84
92
3%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Renewable share (%)
Gigawatts (GW)
Fossil fuels Nuclear Other Non-RE
Hydro/marine Wind Solar
Bioenergy Geothermal Renewable share
62%
38%
Generation in 2022 GWh %
Non-renewable 405 949 99
Renewable 2 839 1
Hydro and marine 0 0
Solar 1 251 0
Wind 1 588 0
Bioenergy 0 0
Geothermal 0 0
Total 408 788 100
1
2021
2
2021
3
2021
4
2021
5
2018
Avoided emissions based on fossil fuel mix used for power Calculated by dividing power sector emissions by elec. + heat gen.
King Salman Energy Park (SPARK)
Saudi Arabia - Sudair Solar Plant Project
Saudi Green Initiative
Saudi Green Initiative - renewable investments
Saudi Arabia Minimum Energy Performance Standards for Electric Motors
ENERGY AND EMISSIONS
Avoided emissions from renewable elec. & heat
CO
2
emission factor for elec. & heat generation
LATEST POLICIES, PROGRAMMES AND LEGISLATION
Electricity generation trend
ELECTRICITY GENERATION
ENERGY AND EMISSIONS
CO
2
emissions by sector
Elec. & heat generation CO
2
emissions in
Per capita electricity generation (kWh)
247
Mt CO
2
247
Mt CO
2
0
5 000
10 000
15 000
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Total Renewable
0.0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Mt CO2
Emissions
Elec. & heat Industrial Combustion Transport Processes
Buildings Fuel Exploitation Agriculture Waste
0%
43%
57%
Coal + others
Gas
Oil
0.0
50
100
150
200
250
300
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Emitted CO2 RE Avoided CO2
+1%
651
605
0.0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
SAU Middle East World
379
389
388
395
407
409
1%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
360
365
370
375
380
385
390
395
400
405
410
415
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Renewable share (%)
Gigawatt
-hours (GWh)
Fossil fuels Nuclear Other Non-RE
Hydro/marine Wind Solar
Bioenergy Geothermal Renewable share
Mt CO2 Emissions
tCO
2
/GWh
Mt CO2 Emissions
World
RENEWABLE RESOURCE POTENTIAL
Distribution of solar potential
Distribution of wind potential
World
Saudi Arabia
Biomass potential: net primary production
Indicators of renewable resource potential
Saudi Arabia
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Proportion of land area
<260 260-420 420-560 560-670 670-820 820-1060 >1060
Wind power density at 100m height (W/m
2
)
200
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Proportion of land area
<1.2 1.2 - 1.4 1.4 - 1.6 1.6 - 1.8 1.8 - 1.9 1.9 - 2.0 >2.0
Annual generation per unit of installed PV capacity (MWh/kWp)
0.5
tC/ha/yr
Solar PV: Solar resource potential has been divided into seven classes,
each representing a range of annual PV output per unit of capacity
(kWh/kWp/yr). The bar chart shows the proportion of a country's land area
in each of these classes and the global distribution of land area across the
classes (for comparison).
Onshore wind: Potential wind power density (W/m
2
) is shown in the seven
classes used by NREL, measured at a height of 100m. The bar chart shows
the distribution of the country's land area in each of these classes
compared to the global distribution of wind resources. Areas in the third
class or above are considered to be a good wind resource.
Biomass: Net primary production (NPP) is the amount of carbon fixed by
plants and accumulated as biomass each year. It is a basic measure of
biomass productivity. The chart shows the average NPP in the country
(tC/ha/yr), compared to the global average NPP of 3-4 tonnes of carbon
= Global average of 3-4 tC/ha/yr
IRENA Headquarters
Masdar City
P.O. Box 236, Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
www.irena.org
Sources: IRENA statistics, plus data from the following sources: UN SDG Database
(original sources: WHO; World Bank; IEA; IRENA; and UNSD); UN World Population
Prospects; UNSD Energy Balances; UN COMTRADE; World Bank World Development
Indicators; EDGAR; REN21 Global Status Report; IEA-IRENA Joint Policies and Measures
Database; IRENA Global Atlas; and World Bank Global Solar Atlas and Global Wind
Atlas.
Additional notes: Capacity per capita and public investments SDGs only apply to
developing areas. Energy self-sufficiency has been defined as total primary energy
production divided by total primary energy supply. Energy trade includes all
commodities in Chapter 27 of the Harmonised System (HS). Capacity utilisation is
calculated as annual generation divided by year-end capacity x 8,760h/year. Avoided
emissions from renewable power is calculated as renewable generation divided by fossil
fuel generation multiplied by reported emissions from the power sector. This assumes
that, if renewable power did not exist, fossil fuels would be used in its place to generate
the same amount of power and using the same mix of fossil fuels. In countries and years
where no fossil fuel generation occurs, an average fossil fuel emission factor has been
used to calculate the avoided emissions.
These profiles have been produced to provide an overview of developments in
renewable energy in different countries and areas. The IRENA statistics team would
welcome comments and feedback on its structure and content, which can be sent to
statistics@irena.org.
Last updated on: 31 July, 2024
