Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia will adopt a renewable energy program at the start of 2013 and hopes to have its first nuclear power plant operational by 2020 to meet soaring demand for electricity as its economy expands.

The kingdom expects to generate 50% of its electricity from nuclear and other renewal energy sources by 2032, the official Saudi Press Agency, or SPA, reported late Wednesday citing Khaled al-Sulaiman, vice president for renewable energy at the King Abdullah City of Atomic and Renewable Energy, or KA- CARE.

The Arab world's largest economy plans to build a total of 16 nuclear reactors by 2030 at a total cost of around $100 billion. The plants would take 9-11 years to complete and the first plant will start operations by 2020, Mr. al-Sulaiman said, according to SPA.

Several solar energy projects are also planned for completion by 2020 and the first power plant using solar energy would take 18-24 months to be completed.

"Solar energy will meet more than 20% of the kingdom's electricity needs 20 years from now," Mr. al-Sulaiman said. "Other alternative energy sources like wind, geothermal, shale and nuclear power would help provide up to 50% of electricity demand by 2032."

A booming population and developing economy are constraining the desert kingdom ability to provide electricity and water, while keeping domestic demand for oil at bay.

Some economists say that if Saudi Arabia's current energy-consumption growth rate of 7% a year continues unabated, the kingdom within 20 years will burn the equivalent of around two-thirds its total current crude production capacity of 12.5 million barrels a day.

The nuclear plans position the kingdom among other Arab states, like the United Arab Emirates , Egypt and Jordan , seeking to develop nuclear energy for civilian use.

The Gulf state has already signed nuclear cooperation pacts with China , France , Argentina and South Korea , and it has also been in discussions with the U.S. , U.K. , Russia and the Czech Republic over better cooperation in nuclear energy.

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