Sustainability

Alfanar bags $320mn solar power and infrastructure contract in Saudi Arabia

The solar plant will cut the Jubail desalination plant’s consumption of crude oil by 410,000 barrels per year

Alfanar has won a contract to develop a 110MW solar photovoltaic power plant project, which will be part of a floating solar panel system. The US $320mn contract was awarded by the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC).

According to a statement, the SWCC project will also see the development of a 380kV substation, along with 172km of overhead transmission lines. The SWCC said the solar plant will play a critical role in powering the nearby Jubail desalination plant with renewable energy, thereby reducing the use of 410,000 barrels of crude oil per year.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Abdulrahman Al Fadhli, who is also the Chairman of the Board at SWCC, along with SWCC Governor Abdullah Al Abdulkarim and Alfanar’s Managing Director Sabah Al Mutlaq and Executive Vice President Amer Al Ajmi.

In February 2021, Alfanar signed a MoU with Aramco to develop in-Kingdom initiatives and, in March 2022, Saudi Arabia announced over 60 water projects worth US $9.33bn.

Alfanar pointed out that it is aligned with the Saudi Green Initiative, which is a part of Vision 2030 and is investing strategically in renewable energy technologies, such as solar and wind energy.

The Jubail desalination plant, which boasts a production capacity of one million cu/m per day of water, is said to be one of the largest water desalination plants in the world.

In May 2022, an Acwa Power-led consortium said it had won a major Saudi water deal.

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