The burgeoning energy efficiency landscape in Saudi Arabia has experienced significant expansion, as evidenced by the increase in the number of certified service providers to 55 by the close of 2023, according to a high-ranking official.
With the intention to diminish its ecological footprint and fortified aspirations to realize a net-zero status by 2060, the nation is turning to the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center to be a guiding force in these efforts, as pointed out by Nasser Al-Ghamdi, the center’s Chief Executive Officer.
In his opening remarks at the Saudi ESCO forum, Al-Ghamdi underscored the agency’s commitment to fostering awareness about energy conservation. He shed light on how 26 academic institutions across the country have integrated energy efficiency into their educational programs.
“Since the establishment of the center, we have initiated a range of programs aimed at curtailing energy use,” Al-Ghamdi mentioned.
He went on to reveal that the center has successfully orchestrated and executed in excess of 200 training initiatives concentrated on energy conservation practices.
The CEO emphasized the center’s dedication to cultivating a conducive environment for providers and beneficiaries within this ‘promising market,’ ensuring the delivery of high-quality services by energy-efficiency firms.
Al-Ghamdi elaborated that such an achievement is envisaged through the implementation of a regulatory framework that mandates technical qualifications for entities seeking to invest in the sector.
Accentuating the sector’s impact on achieving net-zero targets, the CEO elaborated: “This nascent sector is instrumental in assisting companies, enterprises, and buildings in deploying strategies to utilize energy more efficiently by offering financing, management solutions, and energy consumption analysis to enhance their use of resources.”
In response to the lack of energy efficiency measures within the commercial realm—a major energy consumer representing 15.7 percent of the nation’s total facility energy usage—the center has embarked on a pilot project to refine this area.
The project’s goal is to elevate the commercial sector’s efficiency by increasing business owners’ cognizance of the benefits, with the expectation that introducing energy audits will substantially raise overall efficiency levels.