Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III (SepcoIII) has achieved a key milestone with the successful connection of the first wind turbine at the 600MW Al Ghat Wind Power Project in Saudi Arabia to the grid.
SepcoIII is a global engineering corporation that specialises in the construction of various types of power plants, including thermal, nuclear, gas, hydro, wind, transformer substation, biomass, photovoltaic, solar energy and sea water desalination.
The project is being developed by Japanese group Marubeni Corporation and Ajlan & Bros and have already inked a power purchase agreement with Saudi Power Procurement Company.
Under the deal, Marubeni and Ajlan & Bros will develop, construct, operate, and maintain the Al-Ghat Onshore Wind IPP Project at a facility and SPPC will purchase the produced power for 25 years.
It is the first wind project to be implemented with the involvement of a Japanese company in Saudi Arabia.
The successful grid connection of the first turbine represents the first time that 7.7MW wind turbine units have been connected to the power grid in Saudi Arabia, highlighting a technological milestone for the Kingdom’s renewable energy sector and signaling a new phase in the project’s execution, said the company.
The project utilises domestically manufactured 7.7MW wind turbine generators, currently the largest single-unit wind turbine capacity deployed in Saudi Arabia, it stated.
The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) work for the project is being handled by Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III. The project comprises 80 wind turbine units, each with a capacity of 7.7MW.
During construction, the project team implemented a co-ordinated approach to project execution, carefully managing design, procurement, construction, and commissioning activities.
Key milestones, including wind turbine installation and electrical commissioning, were completed according to schedule and to high technical standards, said the company.
Once completed, the wind farm will generate clean and reliable electricity capable of serving hundreds of thousands of residents while reducing dependence on long-distance power transmission.
In addition to strengthening the Kingdom’s renewable energy capacity, the project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately one million tons annually. This environmental benefit is equivalent to planting nearly 50 million trees.
SepcoIII said following the successful backfeeding of the project substation last week, the team accelerated preparations for grid integration. Within 48 hours, the first wind turbine unit was successfully synchronised with the grid, an achievement that received positive recognition from the project owner and supervising authorities.
The Al Ghat Wind Power Project is expected to play an important role in supporting Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy ambitions and contributing to the Kingdom’s broader sustainability and energy diversification goals, it added.-TradeArabia News Service