Assessing Barriers for Public–Private Partnerships in Achieving Affordable and Clean Energy in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia aims to diversify its energy sources and promote sustainable development in line with its Vision 2030. A central aspect of this strategy is achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy for all. Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly recognized as vital for mobilizing the significant investments, technological expertise, and innovation required to support the Kingdom’s energy transition. However, the deployment of PPPs within Saudi Arabia’s energy sector faces numerous challenges, including financial constraints, regulatory and policy uncertainties, institutional capacity limitations, technical integration issues, and socio-cultural factors unique to the Saudi context. This study used the fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to assess and prioritize the four barriers and sixteen sub-barriers impeding the successful implementation of PPPs in achieving affordable and clean energy system in Saudi Arabia. The results revealed that the financial and economic barriers (B1) were the most critical, accounting for 26.9% of the total impact, impeding the implementation of PPPs for sustainable energy development. The technical and social barriers (B4) and institutional and governance challenges (B3) followed with 26.1% and 25.5%, respectively.