Solar + nuclear to surge in Middle East as electricity demand soars – IEA
Electricity demand is skyrocketing across the Middle East and North Africa, and it’s being driven by two big factors: cooling homes and businesses in extreme heat, and making seawater drinkable through desalination. A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows just how dramatic the surge is. Electricity use in the region has tripled since 2000, and it’s expected to jump another 50% by 2035. That’s like adding the current combined electricity demand of Germany and Spain.
Cooling and desalination alone are expected to account for about 40% of that growth over the next decade. Urbanization, industrialization, the electrification of transport, and the boom in data centers are also adding to the load, according to the IEA’s report, “The Future of Electricity in the Middle East and North Africa.”
Right now, natural gas and oil overwhelmingly dominate power generation in the region, making up more than 90% of electricity supply. But that mix is changing. Many countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq, are trying to reduce oil-fired power to free it up for export. The IEA says natural gas will likely cover half the demand growth through 2035, with oil’s share falling from 20% today to just 5%.
Renewables are on the rise, too. Solar capacity is set to increase tenfold by 2035, growing by 200 gigawatts (GW), which would boost renewables’ share of the electricity mix to around 25%, up from 6% in 2024. Nuclear power is also expected to triple over the same period.
“Demand for electricity is surging across the Middle East and North Africa, driven by the rapidly rising need for air conditioning and water desalination in a heat- and water-stressed region with growing populations and economies,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. “To meet this demand, power capacity over the next 10 years is set to expand by over 300 GW, the equivalent of three times Saudi Arabia’s current total generation capacity.”
Meeting that demand won’t come cheap. Investment in the power sector hit $44 billion in 2024, and it’s projected to grow another 50% by 2035. Nearly 40% of that spending is expected to go toward upgrading grids, which currently suffer losses that are double the global average.
The IEA says grid upgrades and stronger regional interconnections will be critical for electricity security. Balancing renewables will also require more energy storage, demand-side flexibility, and enough gas-fired plants to cover when solar and wind aren’t available.
Energy efficiency improvements could ease some of the strain. For example, air conditioners in the region are less than half as efficient as those in Japan. Upgrading the ACs alone could cut peak demand growth by an amount equal to Iraq’s entire current power capacity.
If countries move more slowly on diversifying their power mix, according to the report, the stakes are high. Carbon dioxide emissions would continue to rise, and oil and gas demand for electricity could increase by more than a quarter by 2035, cutting export revenues by $80 billion and raising import bills by $20 billion.
Read more: 1 in 4 cars sold in 2025 will be EVs, and that’s just the beginning
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President and CEO of Saudi’s Aramco, Amin H. Nasser, speaks during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 29, 2024.
Hamad I Mohammed | Reuters
Think of Saudi Arabia and the first thing that comes to mind might be its massive, oil-derived wealth.
While oil continues to drive Saudi Arabia’s economy, the kingdom is now expanding into areas such as artificial intelligence, tourism and sports to diversify its growth avenues.
According to Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Investment Khalid Al Falih, more than half — 50.6% — of the Saudi economy is now “completely decoupled” from oil.
“This percentage is growing,” Al Failh told CNBC’s Dan Murphy, adding that government revenue used to be almost completely derived from oil money, but now, 40% of its revenue comes from sectors and sources that “have nothing to do with oil.”
“We’re seeing great results, but we’re not satisfied. We want to do more. We want to accelerate the kingdom’s diversification and growth story,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is doubling down on fast-growing sectors such as artificial intelligence, naming it one of its new growth areas, with Al Failh saying the kingdom will be a “key investor” in developing AI applications and large language models. Saudi Arabia would also build data centers “at a scale and at a competitive cost not achieved anywhere else.”
“AI has emerged [in] the last three, four years, and it’s definitely going to define how the future economy of every nation. Those who invest will lead, and those who lag behind, unfortunately, will lose,” he pointed out.
On Monday, AI chip company Groq’s CEO, Jonathan Ross, told CNBC that for AI infrastructure thanks to its energy surplus. The country could see more than $135 billion in gains by 2030 thanks to AI, according to PwC.
Saudi Arabia’s quarterly budget performance report revealed that total government revenue for the first half of 2025 came in at 565.21 billion Saudi riyals ($150.73 billion), with oil making up 53.4% of the country’s overall revenue, down from 67.97% in the same period in 2019.
In 2024, the country reported a 1.3% rise in full-year GDP, mainly driven by a 4.3% increase in non-oil segments. Oil activity, on the other hand, fell 4.5% year on year.
The country’s sovereign wealth fund — the Public Investment Fund — has acquired stakes in tech giants, video game publishers and football clubs as it uses oil revenues to diversify into other sectors.
PIF has acquired stakes in video-game heavyweight Electronic Arts, establishing the SoftBank Vision Fund with Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp in 2017, and a takeover of English Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021.
When asked if declining oil prices were piling pressure on Saudi Arabia’s economy and government revenue, Al Falih said that the country was not scaling back budgets and there were no cuts to public spending.
Oil prices have fallen in 2025, with Brent crude spot prices down 13.4% so far this year, according to FactSet. Saudi Arabia’s oil revenue slid 24% in the first half of 2025 from a year earlier.
The government will continue to address all activities that require government spending, Al Falih said, noting that the PIF has grown sixfold since its creation and that the country was approaching nearly $1 trillion in capital deployed across sectors of strategic interest.
Tourism has also been a key growth area for Saudi Arabia. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the country’s tourism minister, told CNBC that the sector’s share in GDP had grown to 5% in 2024 from 3% in 2019.
“We are [opening] resorts, new airlines, new airports, and the numbers are growing, and we are focusing on countries and visitors that are coming from outside to experience our great culture,” Al-Khateeb highlighted.
The tourism minister also expressed confidence that the sector could contribute 10% of GDP by 2030, aiming to raise it to 20% eventually.
“This 20% will help Saudi Arabia to diversify the economy and make it more sustainable,” he added.
Meta just signed more power purchase agreements (PPAs) with ENGIE North America, expanding their partnership to more than 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of solar across four projects in Texas. It’s just a shame the social media giant is also going big on gas plants in Louisiana to power its data centers at the same time.
The latest PPAs include ENGIE’s new 600-megawatt (MW) Swenson Ranch Solar project in Stonewall County, southeast of Lubbock. When it comes online in 2027, Swenson will become ENGIE’s largest solar farm within its 11 GW North American portfolio of solar, wind, and battery storage projects. Meta will buy 100% of Swenson’s power to run its US data centers.
ENGIE says the $900 million project will create over 350 construction jobs and generate over $158 million in tax revenue for Stonewall County and the local hospital district over its lifetime.
“Our objective is to bring reliable, cost-competitive power to the grid as rapidly as possible, and projects like Swenson demonstrate the importance of solar to meet the timely needs of our customers,” said Dave Carroll, ENGIE North America’s CEO and chief renewables officer.
Meta’s head of global energy, Urvi Parekh, said the expanded deal with ENGIE “enables us to continue matching 100% of our electricity use with clean and renewable energy to support our data center operations,” Parekh said.
Electrek’s Take
Meta isn’t exactly putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to matching 100% of its electricity use with clean energy. The social media giant is also building a $10 billion data center – one of the world’s largest – in Richland Parish, Louisiana, that’s going to be powered by three gas-powered plants, which utility Entergy will build especially for Meta, which is paying 50% of the costs. Those three plants will produce 2,262 MW of dirty fossil fuel power. For perspective, that’s nearly 10% of Entergy’s current energy capacity across four states.
So while the 1.3 GW of clean energy that ENGIE will produce in Texas for Meta is great, it doesn’t make up for the CO2 emissions it’s about to create with this dirty project it’s building in a lower-income farming community in Louisiana. It certainly isn’t for speed, because solar is the fastest to put up. Limited state oversight – and a 2024 state law that lets the company skip paying sales tax – likely helped Meta make that destructive decision.
Read more: Texas just became No 1 in the US for most utility-scale solar
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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![Genesis is building a new luxury off-road SUV, and all signs point to an EV [Images]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/Genesis-off-road-SUV-EV.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
That rugged new Genesis SUV we’ve been waiting for might be electric after all. A Genesis EV was spotted in South Korea with a new off-road style and EV powertrain.
Is the Genesis off-road luxury SUV an EV?
Genesis is turning ten this year, and to celebrate, it’s giving the people what they want. The luxury brand has a slate of new vehicles set to launch over the next few years, including a flagship full-size electric SUV, high-performance cars, and a luxury off-roader.
Hyundai confirmed during last month’s CEO Investor Day that Genesis will offer vehicles across all powertrains, rather than electric only, as initially planned.
Although we knew the “ultra-luxe” GV90 would be electric when it arrives in 2026, Genesis has kept most details of its luxury off-road SUV a secret.
We got our first look at it in April after Genesis unveiled the X Gran Equator Concept. The rugged-looking SUV is the brand’s “first adventure vehicle concept,” but that’s about all we know.
Genesis said the off-road SUV “marries on-road sophistication with off-road resilience,” offering adventure and refinement, but didn’t provide any specifics.
After a modified Genesis test car was spotted in South Korea with off-road upgrades, it’s looking more likely that the off-road SUV may actually be an EV.
The images posted by user hscarstory on an online forum are among the first to emerge. The vehicle, a modified Genesis Electrified GV70, was being tested by the “Chassis Test Team.” You can see a few added off-road elements like a fine-tuned suspension and bigger tires.
It also has a large tow hook or wrench on the front, a staple of Hyundai XRT test cars. The test vehicle is expected to be the first of a new Genesis off-road brand or trim, similar to Hyundai’s XRT.
Genesis said the X Gran Equator Concept wasn’t confirmed for production. Still, certain design elements and features, such as the integrated roof rails and split-opening tailgate, “showcase the brand’s future design potential.”
The brand has yet to say when the luxury off-roader will arrive. We do know Genesis is launching its first hybrid, the GV80, next year.
It will introduce its first extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) based on the GV70 in late 2026 or early 2027. We got our first look at the Genesis GV70 EREV and hybrid models earlier this month, out for testing.
The GV90 is expected to arrive in mid-2026 as the first vehicle built on Hyundai’s new eM platform. Genesis has yet to reveal when it will launch the luxury off-roader, but it’s expected to arrive as a 2027 model. Since it’s introducing new powertrains, we can’t rule out an EREV or a hybrid variation of the off-roader.
Can Genesis compete with the Rivian R1S? Or the upcoming Range Rover Electric? We should learn more soon. Check back for the latest updates.
Source: HSscarstory
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