TABUK: Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea tourism destination has begun commercial operations of what its developers describe as the world’s largest integrated off-grid utilities system, powered entirely by renewable energy, marking a new phase in the development of the multibillion-dollar destination.
Red Sea Global and ACWA Power announced the Project Commercial Operation Date for the utilities project serving The Red Sea destination, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.
The milestone followed the signing of a Commercial Operation Certificate by Marafiq Red Sea for Energy Co., the project company established by ACWA Power in partnership with SPIC Huanghe Hydropower and Saudi Tabreed, and the Red Sea Utilities Company, a subsidiary of Red Sea Global.
The agreement formally begins a 25-year concession period for the project and marks the start of commercial operations for a fully integrated utilities system that operates without a connection to Saudi Arabia’s national electricity grid.
The system currently supplies hotels operating at The Red Sea destination, Red Sea International Airport, a logistics hub, a fleet of electric vehicles, a staff village and other community and operational facilities.
Developed through a long-term partnership between Red Sea Global and the ACWA Power-led consortium, the project combines five core services in a single system: renewable energy, potable water, wastewater treatment, district cooling and waste management.
Electricity is generated by a 340-megawatt alternating-current solar photovoltaic plant integrated with a battery energy storage system with a capacity of 1,227 megawatt-hours.
The developers said the battery facility is the world’s largest off-grid battery storage system, allowing the destination to continue receiving renewable power after sunset.
The system was designed to meet the destination’s initial energy needs and can be expanded as future phases come online. It is capable of generating up to 760,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity annually, helping avoid an estimated 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
The utilities project also includes three seawater reverse-osmosis desalination plants, a waste management center and a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 16,000 cubic meters per day.
Treated wastewater will be used to support the surrounding natural environment, including the creation of new wetlands, while also providing irrigation water for Red Sea Global’s landscape nursery and landscaping around the Shura Links golf course.
A district cooling system also serves the destination.
The commercial operations milestone represents a significant step in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to develop large-scale tourism projects using renewable energy and infrastructure designed to operate independently of the national grid, SPA reported.
