Milestone: Arrival of Wind Turbines of Saudi Arabia’s First Utility Scale’s Wind Farm

Saudi Arabia is becoming the Middle East’s pace setter in green energy and sustainability. The Kingdom, traditionally known for its oil production, is in the process of switching its energy production from fossil fuels as a source of electricity to wind and solar power. The latest milestone to mark the progress of this transition is the consignment of 20 wind turbines for Dumat Al-Jandal, the Kingdom’s first utility scale wind power farm.

The transition from oil to sustainable energy production is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Over the next nine years, the Saudi government will as part of a USD 50 billion program develop more than 30 solar and wind projects to boost power generation and cut oil consumption. The goal is by then to cover 50 percent of the Kingdom’s energy demand by renewable energy.

As the first stage, Dumat Al-Jandal, a USD 500 million-project, includes in total 99 wind turbines, each with a hub height of 130 meters and a rotor diameter of 150 meter. The 400-megawatt wind farm is being built in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jouf province, 900 kilometers north of the capital, Riyadh. It will be showcasing the increasing competitiveness of wind energy globally. Commercial operations are due to start in the first quarter of 2022.

The project was awarded in January 2019 after a competitive tender by Saudi Arabia’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO), to a consortium of specialized international companies including the Danish Vestas, which will be responsible for the project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), making Dumat Al-Jandal farm not only the most powerful, but also the most cost-efficient wind-energy project in the world. This means the wind farm will produce electricity at the price of just under USD 0.02 per kWh, which enabled the project to win the Project Finance International (PFI) Renewable Deal of the Year in Middle East and Africa Award for 2019.

The farm’s electricity will be produced under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC). When it is fully operational it will power up to 70,000 Saudi households, while displacing around 994,000 tons of carbon emissions per year.

Therefore, it will be the largest wind farm in the Middle East.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Denmark, Fahad bin Maayouf Al Ruwaily :

“Denmark and Saudi Arabia both have strong ambitions in the field of renewable energy. Last June, the Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister HRH Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman announced the Kingdom’s goal for producing 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. I am glad to see some big Danish companies with cutting-edge technology in the field of renewable energy work in our country, Saudi Arabia, in green energy projects, and assisting the historic shift to a sustainable production of energy. I am confident that this cooperation will widen and expand to new horizons in the future as the use of renewable energy grows and becomes more popular ”

For more information:

Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Copenhagen

Department of Media and Information

Mail: embassy@saudiemb.dk

Phone: +45 39 40 90 16