Saudi Arabia has an unlikely solar star

SITTING ATOPGWACWAPIFACWAGWGWGW a fifth of the world’s oil reserves, Saudi Arabia doesn’t spring to mind when you think about renewables. Muhammad bin Salman, its crown prince and de facto ruler, would like this to change. He wants half of Saudi electricity to come from wind and solar farms by 2030. Two-thirds of that capacity, or around 40 gigawatts () will, if Prince Muhammad gets his wish (as he tends to do), be courtesy of one firm: Power.For most of its 19-year existence the utility was a relatively anonymous family-run affair. No longer. Since it went public in Riyadh in 2021 its market value has swelled nearly four-fold. It is now worth $50bn. The Public Investment Fund (), the steward of Saudi sovereign wealth, owns a 44% stake. has 24 of green projects at home and abroad either already running or at an advanced stage, up from 0.3 in 2014. Add its other capacity under construction and the total is 54. Its original business of desalinating water went from 1m cubic metres a day in 2006 to 7.6m cubic metres in December. Its newish boss, Marco Arcelli, a seasoned Italian energy executive, expects assets it has a stake in to triple between now and 2030, to $250bn. Its projects will, he hopes, help create a broader domestic green-energy supply chain. “We are a big enabler,” he says.