Saudi Arabia’s The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) — the developer of the kingdom’s 28,000km2 The Red Sea Project, has announced it is creating the world’s largest battery storage facility to enable the entire site at 1,000MWh.
The development will be powered solely by wind and solar energy, 24 hours a day.
Commenting on the facility, chief executive officer of TRSDC, John Pagano, said: “The size and scale of TRSDC’s battery storage facility puts this iconic regenerative tourism destination at the forefront of the global transition towards carbon neutrality. Wind and solar capacity are set to exceed coal and gas in less than five years, and we are keen to drive the pace of change.”
The battery storage facility is one part of a significant public-private partnership (PPP) agreement that TRSDC recently awarded to an ACWA Power consortium to design, build, operate and transfer The Red Sea Project’s utilities infrastructure.
Battery storage is needed to support site-wide energy resilience, providing the power required at night when solar generation is not possible. It will also ensure supply in the case of outages when shutdowns occur due to potential faults or sandstorms affecting production. The blend of solar and wind power generation will also guarantee a reliable supply of energy to the destination.
The PPP agreement expects to generate up to 650,000MWh of 100% renewable energy to supply the destination and other utility systems, while emitting zero CO2.Â
The 25-year concession agreement includes the provision of renewable power, potable water, sustainable solid waste management, wastewater treatment and district cooling infrastructure. The construction of three seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants at the project will provide clean drinking water.
In addition, an innovative sewage treatment plant (STP) will allow waste to be managed in a way that enhances the environment, by creating new wetland habitats and supplementing irrigation water for landscaping at the destination.
The utility concession agreement allows for future expansion in line with the development of the destination, ensuring that the servicing needs of guests staying at the destination’s 50 hotels and 1,300 residential properties can be met by 2030.
