An off-grid renewable energy utilities project supplying Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea tourism development area has reached provisional commercial operation date (PCOD), it is reported. The project company, Marafiq Red Sea for Energy Company, was jointly established by ACWA Power, SPIC Huanghe Hydropower and Saudi Tabreed to lead development.
The project combines solar power generation with a battery energy storage system (BESS) to supply electricity, desalinated water, wastewater treatment and district cooling entirely off-grid, and is reported to be the world’s largest such integrated off-grid utility system. EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) work was reportedly carried out by SEPCO III, a Shandong Electric Power Construction consortium. The concession period is reported at 25 years.
Total investment is reported at approximately $1.84 billion, including roughly $1.33 billion in senior debt. Facility scale includes 340MWac of solar generation and 1,227MWh of battery energy storage, with a 25-year concession period.
Saudi Arabia has set a goal of supplying its Red Sea tourism development entirely with renewable energy, and this commercial operation launch is reported to be a key milestone toward achieving that goal.
An increasing number of large-scale tourism and industrial developments are being operated entirely on renewable-based off-grid systems, suggesting integrated utility models combining solar and battery storage could see wider adoption.