The official who designed Saudi Arabia's strategy to lure $109 billion in investment for solar energy left his post, raising questions over how quickly the effort will progress.

Khalid al-Sulaiman, a vice-president of the King Abdullah City for Renewable and Atomic Energy, has departed because the government didn’t renew his contract, people with knowledge of the decision said.

Another person close to the executive said he retired.

Ka-Care, as the organisation is known, was chartered by the king in 2010 to form a strategy on nuclear and renewable energy. It set goals for boosting solar power to reduce domestic demand for oil and natural gas. – (Bloomberg)