Saudi Arabia plans to re-orientate its use of oil from power generation to production of goods (The Guardian)

The Guardian has published an interesting article on the new energy strategy defended by one of Saudi Arabia representatives, Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, at the occasion of the Global Economic Symposium in Brazil (16-17 October 2012). The official target is to become "100% powered by renewable and low-carbon forms of energy." Under this scenario, Saudi's oil reserves could primarily serve for the manufacturing of plastics and polymers, which is a noticeable statement. The article by The Guardian depicts the good energy features of Saudia Arabia in terms of renewables (in particular solar energy, see article from PV magazine here), but also investments in nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) as unavoidable parts of the solution for low carbon economy. Depleted oil and gas fields could serve as CCS storage sites.

Worth a read. Full article available HERE. 

See also the "Reassessing Renewable Energies" webpage of the Global Economic Symposium website. The later has the merits of giving a glimpse over world leader's views on the environment and energy, while it does not exactly provide an in-depth analysis of the issues.