Techno-Economic Assessment of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Direct Air Capture in Saudi Arabia

Sana Aljishi; Sarah Alyami; Eman Alghorabi; Hana Faltakh; Hamid Zentou; Mahmoud Abdelnaby; Nouf K. AL-Saleem; G. I. Ameereh; Fawziah Alhajri

doi:10.3390/su17177659

Techno-Economic Assessment of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Direct Air Capture in Saudi Arabia

Sana Aljishi
, Sarah Alyami
, Eman Alghorabi
, Hana Faltakh^*
, Hamid Zentou
, Mahmoud Abdelnaby
, Nouf K. AL-Saleem^*
, G. I. Ameereh
, Fawziah Alhajri

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

In alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the Kingdom aims to achieve one of its main environmental targets: reaching net zero emissions by 2060. This ambitious goal can be realized through Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies, particularly Direct Air Capture (DAC), which is among the most promising solutions. DAC offers high potential for extracting Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) directly from the atmosphere and is considered sustainable, especially when powered by renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. However, the technology remains highly cost-intensive. This paper presents a techno-economic assessment of renewable energy configurations to determine the most cost-effective solutions for DAC deployment. The evaluation focuses on Net Present Cost (NPC) and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) across several regions in Saudi Arabia, using the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) Pro software (version 3.18.4).

Original language	English
Article number	7659
Journal	Sustainability (Switzerland)
Volume	17
Issue number	17
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177659
State	Published - Sep 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

Direct Air Capture (DAC)
Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources Pro software (HOMER) Pro
Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE)
Net Present Cost (NPC)
techno economic

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10.3390/su17177659

Cite this

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title = "Techno-Economic Assessment of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Direct Air Capture in Saudi Arabia",

abstract = "In alignment with Saudi Arabia{\textquoteright}s Vision 2030, the Kingdom aims to achieve one of its main environmental targets: reaching net zero emissions by 2060. This ambitious goal can be realized through Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies, particularly Direct Air Capture (DAC), which is among the most promising solutions. DAC offers high potential for extracting Carbon Dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere and is considered sustainable, especially when powered by renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. However, the technology remains highly cost-intensive. This paper presents a techno-economic assessment of renewable energy configurations to determine the most cost-effective solutions for DAC deployment. The evaluation focuses on Net Present Cost (NPC) and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) across several regions in Saudi Arabia, using the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) Pro software (version 3.18.4).",

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author = "Sana Aljishi and Sarah Alyami and Eman Alghorabi and Hana Faltakh and Hamid Zentou and Mahmoud Abdelnaby and AL-Saleem, \{Nouf K.\} and Ameereh, \{G. I.\} and Fawziah Alhajri",

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year = "2025",

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AU - Aljishi, Sana

AU - Alyami, Sarah

AU - Alghorabi, Eman

AU - Faltakh, Hana

AU - Zentou, Hamid

AU - Abdelnaby, Mahmoud

AU - AL-Saleem, Nouf K.

AU - Ameereh, G. I.

AU - Alhajri, Fawziah

PY - 2025/9

Y1 - 2025/9

N2 - In alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the Kingdom aims to achieve one of its main environmental targets: reaching net zero emissions by 2060. This ambitious goal can be realized through Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies, particularly Direct Air Capture (DAC), which is among the most promising solutions. DAC offers high potential for extracting Carbon Dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere and is considered sustainable, especially when powered by renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. However, the technology remains highly cost-intensive. This paper presents a techno-economic assessment of renewable energy configurations to determine the most cost-effective solutions for DAC deployment. The evaluation focuses on Net Present Cost (NPC) and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) across several regions in Saudi Arabia, using the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) Pro software (version 3.18.4).

AB - In alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the Kingdom aims to achieve one of its main environmental targets: reaching net zero emissions by 2060. This ambitious goal can be realized through Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies, particularly Direct Air Capture (DAC), which is among the most promising solutions. DAC offers high potential for extracting Carbon Dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere and is considered sustainable, especially when powered by renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. However, the technology remains highly cost-intensive. This paper presents a techno-economic assessment of renewable energy configurations to determine the most cost-effective solutions for DAC deployment. The evaluation focuses on Net Present Cost (NPC) and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) across several regions in Saudi Arabia, using the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) Pro software (version 3.18.4).

KW - Direct Air Capture (DAC)

KW - Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources Pro software (HOMER) Pro

KW - Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE)

KW - Net Present Cost (NPC)

KW - techno economic

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DO - 10.3390/su17177659

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M1 - 7659

ER -

Techno-Economic Assessment of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Direct Air Capture in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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