Saudi Arabia’s planned smart city NEOM, expected to be home to one million people, is set to issue its first tenders for a renewables power grid later this year. The move underscores the gathering green energy transition taking shape in Middle East countries, as they seek to shift away from their longstanding dependence on oil and gas. And while they profess a desire to contribute to international net-zero ambitions, there are also more hard-headed calculations at play.

Envisaged as a carbon-neutral city, NEOM, located on the Red Sea coast, will boast one of the world’s biggest plants producing green hydrogen – an emerging clean fuel, generated by renewable sources, which could have an instrumental role in  global decarbonisation efforts. The $5 billion plant is among a raft of green energy projects the kingdom is advancing – part of a wider bid to promote innovation and enterprise as a means of transforming the country’s economy, the so-called Vision 2030 initiative. 

Read the full story at Digital Journal