The Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Softbank Vision Fund signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the "Solar Energy Plan 2030", which will be a new framework for development of the Kingdom's solar energy sector. The MoU was signed during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) being held in Riyadh this week. The new initiative includes establishment of the first plant which is first of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to generate electricity with capacity of 3 gigawatts by 2018. The project will be implemented through the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) where the PIF owned 74.3 % of the SEC shares. The two sides will also discuss the possibility of acquiring a significant minor stake of the Saudi Electricity Company by SoftBank Vision Fund. The PIF and SoftBank Vision Fund will explore opportunities to establish industries in the field of power generation systems and batteries in the Kingdom, which will help to support diversification of sectors and create jobs in the field of advanced technologies. The development of the solar sector in the Kingdom is one of the main goals of the Vision 2030, which seeks to create a modern and diversified economy. The Kingdom aims to reach 9.5 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2023. The Chairman & CEO of Softbank Group Masayoshi Son said: "the rapid technological developments and their wide scope have made solar energy as one of the most attractive options to generate electricity. Since the Kingdom has high level of solar radiation, we are very excited to work with PIF and SEC in order to build a leading international solar power plant to generate solar energy, establish industries in the field of power generation systems and batteries and create jobs in the field of advanced technologies in the Kingdom."
