Saudi has assisted multiple power projects that reflects its new approach. This global document, Jeddah Solar Power Project , came as an evidence of a noble and distinct vision, so let’s discover all that you need to know about it with this article.
What Is Saudi Arabia’s Energy Diversification Strategy ?
First, we have to answer this question, clarifying and explaining the new energy diversification that Saudi follows to create a brighter future.
It’s a strategy that comprises numerous targets and objectives, including the new approach of diversification in energy and achieving independence from fossil fuel with clean energy resources and healthy ones.
What Is the Jeddah Solar Power Project?
It’s an ambitious project that embodies Saudi Arabia’s energy diversification strategy, by creating new power resources with solar panels.
Established in 2019 with total capacity that reaches 300 MW, which means a huge quantity of electrical power will provide Jeddah city, including its residential units, industrial areas, and commercial buildings.
Where Is the Jeddah Solar Power Project Located ?
This project is located in the southern eastern part of Jeddah city, specifically in the Third Industrial City, far about 50 Km in Mekkha region, surrounded by multiple roads, such as:
- As Sahil Road
- Al Lith Road
Importance of the Jeddah Solar Power Project
According to Jeddah Solar Power Project , it hides countless points of importance, reflected on multiple fields and sectors, the importance can be summarized with the following points:
- Energy Diversification: Reducing the dependence on fossil fuels
- Environmental Sustainability: Decreasing carbon emissions and pollution
- Economy Support: Offering job opportunities in many fields
It additionally improves the electrical grid reliability, encourages the innovation in technology, and reduces power consumption and costs.
Objectives of Jeddah Solar Power Project
In reality, it contains many objectives that can change Jeddah’s future completely, especially with harnessing the power of the sun to deliver greener, more resilient energy for future generations.
Its goals include enhancing the contribution of renewable energy resources in the total energy scale by 300 MW, in addition to other multiple objectives, such as:
- Cutting carbon emissions
- Bolstering the stability of the national grid
- Cultivating a thriving-energy economy that creates lasting opportunities
Contributions of Jeddah Solar Power Project
According to the objectives that we mentioned above, they were completely achieved and this project contributed to achieve more and more, reflecting these effects on other fields, for example:
Environmental Contributions
It helped the general environment of the city much cleaner, by reducing thousands tonnes of carbon emissions, in addition to the independence of depending on fossil fuels.
Also read Agrofood Jeddah in our blog
Economical Contributions
Different processes has been enhanced since this project started to work, all of that because of the green revolution that it created, an example about these processes:
- Improving grid stability
- Reducing the importing and production expenses
- Helping to reduce the local fossil fuel bills
Social Contributions
Opening new horizons of job opportunities was the first advantage of this project, including different and several sectors, for instance, designing, installation, operation and maintenance, in addition to human capital development in technical sectors.
Strategic Contributions
All of these objectives have announced and declared about Saudi’s intentions to flow with the environmental futuristic plans, including the climate changes and its challenges that threaten the world.
Development Contributions
In some how or a planned strategies, the project developed and enhanced the urban sustainability projects by providing consistent energy for the following:
- Residential complexes
- Industrial areas
- Surrounding rural areas
Development Partners of the Project
Many partnerships were established since has been announced about the project, though some agreements, such as:
Financial Close
In April/2021, it was declared that the three partners “Nesma”, “EDF Renewables” and “Masdar” announced a financial close, which means the project was fully funded to start building.
Power Purchase Agreement – PPA
Another agreement was signed, including purchase power for 25 years in a partnership with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC).
REPDO Agreement
The triple union signed an agreement with (REPDO), comprising a competitive price which is 60.90 SAR for MW/hour.
Technological Agreements
In “South Jeddah Noor” project’s agreement, it was agreed that the union will modern technologies, such as:
- Bifacial solar panels
- Single-axis tracking system
- Robots to clean the panels automatically
It’s worthy mentioning that these methods became a part of Real Estate Technology.
Finally, the Jeddah Solar Power Project forms a circle of a whole series that shows numerous projects that support solar power, so you can take a look and discover more of them with Bayut-KSA.
