Development and Validation of a Renewable Energy–Economic Growth Measurement Framework in Saudi Arabia

HRMARS - The worldwide shift towards sustainability in energy systems has increased the demand for robust measurement tools to assess the link between renewable energy development and economic development. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program has facilitated rapid investment in renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydrogen energies as a means of diversifying the economy. Nonetheless, very little work has been done to develop valid measures of evaluating the economic impact of renewable energy development in the Saudi context. To fill this gap, the current study develops and validates a multivariate measurement instrument based on Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT). A questionnaire-based instrument was developed using a quantitative cross-sectional approach, incorporating expert review, forward-backward translation, pilot testing, and PLS-SEM analysis. It encompasses renewable energy development, technology readiness, institutional support, a shift in energy consumption, and perceptions of economic development. The proposed study is valuable from a theoretical standpoint for its contribution to the existing literature on EMT in resource-based countries undergoing sustainability transitions, and for providing an empirically tested measurement tool.