An annual budget for renewables would differ from the feed- in tariffs that Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Britain offered to spur solar and wind power in their nations.
Germany was first to introduce the feed-in tariff in 2004 and became the world’s biggest market for solar because of the subsidy, which is paid for by consumers through their power bills. In recent years it’s been ratcheting back the level of support after a boom in installations. A budget would mean the state would pay directly for solar projects, requesting bids from companies to build projects.
Initially projects will likely be “big, massive” utility scale solar projects rather than the smaller rooftop units, AlFaisal said. The country is aiming to install about 25 gigawatts of solar thermal generation by 2032 and 16 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic facilities. It’s planning 9 gigawatts of wind, 3 gigawatts of biomass and 1 gigawatt of geothermal power.
