Purpose <p>This study investigates the role of digitalisation in accelerating the renewable energy transition in Saudi Arabia, a resource-dependent economy undergoing structural transformation under Vision 2030. It examines whether digital development enhances energy efficiency and supports renewable energy integration.</p> Design/methodology/approach <p>The study employs a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model to capture short- and long-run asymmetries. To complement the time-domain analysis, the Wavelet–Quantile Correlation (WQC) approach is applied to explore regime-dependent and quantile-specific dynamics across three structural sub-periods (2000–2003, 2003–2009, and 2009–2023). This combined framework allows for a comprehensive assessment of both temporal and distributional heterogeneity.</p> Findings <p>The results reveal significant asymmetries in both the short and long run. CO₂ emissions and non-renewable energy consumption increase energy intensity, particularly under extreme regimes. GDP exhibits a predominantly negative association, supporting the decoupling hypothesis in recent years. FDI shows a strengthening negative effect at higher quantiles, indicating efficiency gains. The digital economy presents heterogeneous effects, shifting from efficiency-enhancing impacts in lower quantiles to energy-demand-increasing effects in upper quantiles. WQC findings largely corroborate ARDL results, confirming regime-dependent and distributional heterogeneity.</p> Policy implications <p>The findings highlight the need for integrated digital-energy policies, investment in smart infrastructure, and promote green FDI, renewable energy expansion, to enhance sustainable energy performance in Saudi Arabia.</p> Originality/value <p>This study contributes to the literature by providing novel distributional heterogeneity and time–frequency evidence on the digital-enabled energy transition in a major oil-dependent economy, employing a combined ARDL–WQC framework rarely applied in this context.</p>