Developer Red Sea Global and energy and water specialist Acwa Power have announced the Project Commercial Operation Date (PCOD) for a utilities project serving The Red Sea destination. This marks the commencement of a 25-year concession to operate an integrated system entirely powered by renewable energy, said a statement.
Marafiq Red Sea for Energy (MRSEC), a project company established by Acwa Power in partnership with SPIC Huanghe Hydropower and Saudi Tabreed, has signed a Commercial Operation Certificate with Red Sea Utilities Company, a subsidiary of Red Sea Global.
This agreement marks the commencement of a 25-year concession period for the project, initiating the commercial operations of a fully integrated utilities system that operates independently of Saudi Arabia’s national electricity grid.
Currently, the system serves various facilities, including hotels at The Red Sea destination, the Red Sea International Airport, a logistics hub, a fleet of electric vehicles, a staff village, and other community and operational facilities, the statement explained.
Developed through a long-term partnership between Red Sea Global and the ACWA Power-led consortium, the project integrates 5-core services into a single system: renewable energy, potable water, wastewater treatment, district cooling, and waste management.
The electricity generation component of the system comprises a 340MW alternating-current solar photovoltaic plant, which is complemented by a battery energy storage system with a capacity of 1,227MWh.
The developers have highlighted that the battery facility stands as the world’s largest off-grid battery storage system, enabling the destination to continue receiving renewable power even after sunset. The system is said to be designed to meet the initial energy requirements of the destination and can be expanded as future phases of the project come online. It has the capability to generate up to 760,000MWh of clean electricity annually, thereby contributing to the reduction of an estimated 600,000t of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
