Even as it pumps near-record quantities of oil, Saudi Arabia is getting ready for a time when the world will no longer need its biggest export. The world’s largest crude exporter is focusing on renewable-energy sources such as solar power in preparation for a post-oil global economy, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said at a conference in Berlin on Thursday. Still, he doesn’t expect that era to dawn any time soon, estimating that consumers will still be burning fossil fuels for at least another 50 years. “I don’t think there is a more ideal country for renewables than Saudi Arabia,” given its abundant sunshine, available land and plentiful sand, which is needed for making solar panels, al-Naimi said. Studies by the kingdom and other countries into alternative energy are looking at ways to shift from oil and gas to renewables, he said. It’s not […]