Envoy Invites Saudi Arabia To Join Germany In Shift To Green Energy

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By Rodolfo C. Estimo Jr.

German Ambassador Dieter W. Haller has invited the Kingdom to join Germany as it shifts to green energy from oil and uranium.

He made the invitation while opening the exhibition “German Energy Transition,” or “Energiewende,” at Al-Hamra Mall.

Haller said the Kingdom is “blessed abundantly with sun and wind,” and commended the Saudi government for taking bold steps to introduce renewables to the local energy portfolio.

“Germany is willing to cooperate with the Kingdom on a government level between the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and our Ministry of Research, and on a private-sector level,” he added, congratulating the Saudi government for its energy efficiency program.

He expressed pleasure at having the exhibition in the Saudi capital during the start of the first round of renewable energy tenders, in which a number of German companies have expressed an interest.

He said since the Kingdom has set itself ambitious goals and is moving swiftly toward implementation, the exhibition came at the right time.

The embassy said Germany “has decided to switch the country’s entire energy supply to renewables by 2050, one step at a time, pursuing clear and ambitious targets and using a precise roadmap.”

It added that in 2016, the share of renewables in German gross domestic power production reached 30 percent.

Haller said the energy transition is the answer to how Germany as an industrialized country can make its energy supply secure, affordable and sustainable.

This will open up new business opportunities, foster innovation, create jobs and boost growth, he added.

Arab News

Arab News is Saudi Arabia's first English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1975 by Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz. Today, it is one of 29 publications produced by Saudi Research & Publishing Company (SRPC), a subsidiary of Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG).

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