Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to export “green” energy, including solar electricity, to Europe.

Energy minister Khalid Al-Falih told Arab News that the country aims to become a “major exporter” of renewable energy as it embarks on a diversification drive.

He was speaking to the newspaper on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

“If the region gets connected to Europe for example, then solar (power) that is produced in Saudi Arabia can be exported all the way to Europe through a network,” he told Arab News.

“When it’s sunny in the region, it’s dark and cloudy sometimes in Europe… So we can be a major exporter.”

Such an electricity supply could be routed through Egypt, and there were “projects underway” to support this, Al-Falih said.

Saudi Arabia earlier this week unveiled a renewable energy program that is expected to involve investment of between $30 billion and $50 billion by 2023.

It plans to start the first round of bidding for projects under the program, which would produce 10 gigawatts of power.

Al-Falih said there was an opportunity to sell both power derived from “green” methods and the materials used to produce renewable energy, like solar panels or wind turbines.

“We will export the power itself, we will export the components and services,” he said.