News Middle East
Saudi Arabia wind farm project set to be the largest in the Middle East Consortium led by renewable EDF Renewables and Masdar is delivering the Dumat Al Jandal, the first utility-scale wind farm project in Saudi Arabia and the largest in the Middle East
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he Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia commemorated the midway mark of the construction of the Dumat Al Jandal wind farm, Saudi Arabia’s first utility-scale wind farm of more than 400MW capacity and the largest in the Middle East.
power into the energy mix and ultimately creating three times more work opportunities for the local talent. As we strive to complete this project with Quality and Safety as priority, we look forward to accelerating Saudi Arabia’s clean energy transition and sustainability leadership journey”.
His Royal Highness Abdulaziz Bin Salman, Minister of Energy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Nawaf, Governor of Al-Jouf Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Ole E. Moesby, Ambassador of Denmark to Saudi Arabia, His Excellency Ludovic Pouille, Ambassador of France to Saudi Arabia, Bruno Bensasson, Group Senior Executive Vice-President Renewable Energies, and Chief Executive Officer of EDF Renewables and Fawaz Al Muharrami, Acting Executive Director, Clean Energy, Masdar, were among those who visited the Dumat Al Jandal wind farm construction site to commemorate the installation of half of the wind turbines from Vestas.
Developed by a consortium led by renewable energy leaders in the region: EDF Renewables and Masdar, the EPC order was made firm for Vestas in July 2019, and includes the supply and installation of 99 V150-4.2MW™ wind turbines, as well as a 20-year Active Output Management 4000 (AOM 4000) service agreement for the operation and maintenance of the wind farm.
Once completed and commercially operational in 2022, the wind farm will potentially supply clean electricity to 70,000 Saudi households and will displace 988,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year, in support of the Kingdom’s climate change mitigation goals. Muhamed Bou-Zeid, General Manager of Vestas MENA says, “Our ambition as a sustainable energy solutions provider with a technology leadership in wind power is to co-create a renewable energy hub in Saudi Arabia and for the wider Middle East together with other sustainability leaders in the region. We believe that the Dumat Al Jandal wind farm is the first step to diversifying not only the Energy sector but also the Renewable Energy sector by adding wind
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MEABUSINESS
Located in the Al-Jouf province, 900km north of Riyadh the capital, the Dumat Al Jandal wind farm project was awarded to the consortium by the Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) of the Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources (MEIM) in January 2019. The Dumat Al Jandal wind farm will supply electricity under a 20-year purchase agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), a subsidiary of the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the Saudi power generation and distribution company. The 99 turbines including their components first arrived at Duba Port in September 2020. They were transported to the Dumat Al Jandal site, where they are currently being assembled and installed. Together with our partners and contractors, safety and quality measures are being enforced throughout the transportation and construction phase to ensure the protection and health of all Vestas employees and contractors, including safekeeping the condition and reliability of the wind turbines and their components on outstanding loans for all affected pri-
Business News for the MEA region
OUR AMBITION AS A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS PROVIDER WITH A TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP IN WIND POWER IS TO CO-CREATE A RENEWABLE ENERGY HUB IN SAUDI ARABIA AND FOR THE WIDER MIDDLE EAST vate-sector companies and retail customers in UAE,” said Moody’s. At an emirate level, Dubai extended the freeze on public service fees until 2023 while in Abu Dhabi several government entities including Abu Dhabi Ports introduced a rent freeze this year for all businesses to provide further relief to investors. The federal government is also introducing programs to shore up investment in the country such as the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ and ‘Operation300bn’, initiatives that seek to support SMEs for the next 10-years to boost their contribution to the country’s economic output.
