King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and SAFEER, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Altaaqa Alternative Solutions (A Zahid Group of Companies), officially signed a letter of intent to provide a major hybrid solar power farm project for KAEC. The strategic agreement provides the framework to develop an estimated 25,000 solar panels (ground-mounted motorized system) producing a capacity of 12.5-megawatt peak (MWp) for the city.
The hybrid solar power farm is expected to reduce KAEC’s carbon footprint of nearly 20,380 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year as well as decrease diesel consumption by approximately 30%. In addition, the project will attribute KAEC’s targets for waste collection and recycling, as well as the construction of landfill-free certified factories. The collaboration with SAFEER is also aligned with KAEC’s goals to be both socially and environmentally sustainable, while also allowing the city to explore new and efficient development solutions benefiting the entire community.
Commenting on the partnership, Cyril Piaia, CEO of KAEC, said: “We are excited to launch KAEC’s first Sustainability project in line with the Kingdom’s Green Initiative, Vision 2030 and the overall United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) for the planet. Signing with SAFEER will enable KAEC to move away from diesel-powered generators and produce green energy for the city and for renowned electric vehicle manufacturers such as LUCID. This hybrid solar farm will also significantly reduce KAEC’s carbon footprint as well as reduce our power generation cost of 17%, which is a nice value-add to the project.”
Francois Ganneau, Managing Director of SAFEER, commented: “As organizations continue to collaborate for the sake of prosperity within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we at SAFEER continue to prioritize initiatives that create a net-positive environmental impact. The signing of this strategic agreement with KAEC to construct a state-of-the-art hybrid solar power farm is a great opportunity for SAFEER to utilize our expertise and resources in developing sustainable projects within the Kingdom. We thank KAEC for their trust and continued support and we look forward to the successful completion of this landmark facility.”
TotalEnergies and Altaaqa Alternative Solutions (a subsidiary of Zahid Group) formed SAFEER as a joint venture intended to serve as a leader in the commercial and industrial solar energy sector within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
To put the impact of KAEC’s 12.5 MWp capacity hybrid solar power farm into context, the project will annually produce around 29.GWh of clean energy, equivalent to approximately 80 million kilometers driven by an average vehicle passenger, or equivalent to carbon sequestered by more than 335,000 tree seeds grown for 10 years. KAEC targets to recycle 85% of the solar system through the lifetime of the PV panels.
KAEC further hopes that the delivery of this cost-effective and reliable solar energy solution will serve as an example of solar technology’s emerging use within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This solar farm project is also fully part of KAEC’s upcoming Sustainability strategy that will be soon announced, along with adherence to ESG principles which are gaining more and more attention within the Kingdom. Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) criteria will become a key driver of Foreign Direct Investments into the Kingdom and KAEC intends to position itself at the forefront of such initiatives