

MUSCAT, JAN 21
Electricity generated from renewables in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) increased by 72.4 per cent in 2023 in comparison to 2022, according to a recent report published by the GCC Statistics Centre.
According to the report, energy produced by renewable energy plants amounted to 14,403 gigawatt hours (GWh), marking a stark difference from the 2022 figure of 8,352 GWh.
Furthermore, the capacity of renewable energy plants in the GCC also recorded a significant increase of 74.7 per cent, reaching around 10,742 megawatts in 2023, in comparison to a capacity of 6,147 MW 2022.
The increase, according to the Centre, could be attributed to the growing attention to renewable energy within member states, the establishment of clean and sustainable energy regulations, and their commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions.
While the GCC council lacks any unified region-wide renewable energy mandates, each member state has pledged to introduce a specific percentage of renewable energy within its energy mix.
Ranking first is Saudi Arabia, which pledged to achieve 50 per cent of renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2030. In second place is the United Arab Emirates which has pledged to achieve 44 per cent of renewable energy production by 2050 as part of the country’s Energy Strategy 2050.
Similarly, in line with Vision 2040, Oman has pledged to achieve 20 per cent energy production from renewables by 2030, later aiming to increase this figure to 35-39 per cent by 2040. Bahrain has committed to achieving 20 per cent of its power generation from renewables by 20235.
Meanwhile, Qatar has not committed to a percentage of total electricity production, but has pledged to produce 2,000–4,000 MW of renewable energy by 2030 and 5,000 MW by 2035.
While the production of renewable energy has been on the rise, it is worth noting that it only amounted to 1.81 per cent of the total electricity production in the GCC for 2023.
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