Red Sea Devet, ACWA Power Co-ink Renewable Energy Facilities Contracts’ Package’

Red Sea Development Company, the developer of one of the world’s most ambitious renewable tourism projects, has signed a contract with a consortium led by ACWA Power for a package of specialized facilities for the Red Sea destination, making it the world’s largest tourism destination with 100% renewable energy facilities.

A partnership, led by ACWA Power, was successful in obtaining the necessary financial resources to design, build, and run the infrastructure of the “Red Sea Destination” services facilities for a period of 25 years, after which the Red Sea Development Company will take over operations. 

The contract calls for the delivery of 100% renewable energy to the destination 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, as well as potable water, sewage treatment, solid waste management, district cooling services, communications, and data services in various parts of the country-sized destination.Belgium.

“We are glad to assure the entire world today the possibility of uniting the advanced aspects of tourism with the principles of sustainable development through our use of unique and renewable approaches in this sector,” John Pagano, CEO of The Red Sea Development Company stated. 

Because of its complete independence from the national electricity system, the Red Sea resort will be a fully sustainable tourist destination, able to meet its own demands with renewable energy sources,” he added.

“Our achievement of this significant achievement, which is in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 objectives, reflects our ability to attract more foreign investments to the Red Sea destination, while also confirming the great national confidence in the elements and capabilities of this integrated tourism destination that we are building on the Red Sea coast,” Pagano elaborated.

Clean and renewable energy

This agreement will govern the provision of public utility services, as the Red Sea Development Company will be the exclusive recipient of these services for the next 25 years. To carry out the deal, ACWA Power will lead a group of local and international investment firms. Saudi and foreign banks, including Standard Chartered Bank of the United Kingdom and the China Silk Road Fund, have contributed to the ACWA Power Consortium’s funding.

The contract’s initial assets and equipment will be supplied by December 2022, and the remaining assets for the first phase will be delivered in 2023, totaling 407 MW of solar PV capacity. 

Destination will be equipped with the required infrastructure to generate approximately 760,000 megawatts of renewable energy per year once it is completed. 

It will also entail the development and operation of the world’s largest battery storage facility, with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, allowing the destination to offer renewable energy all day long. This will help to reduce carbon emissions in the destination’s surrounding environment by half a million tons per year, which is equivalent to cutting emissions from 99,000 cars or 78,000 residences.

A Unique Agreement

All utility services will be delivered under a single contract, which is appropriate for such a large transaction. 

The building of three reverse osmosis desalination facilities will offer 32,500 cubic meters of clean water per day to the destination. 

In addition to the sewage treatment plant, which takes a unique approach by using treated water to build new wet habitats, the Red Sea Development Company will be able to meet its objectives of upgrading vital natural habitats that support biodiversity and store carbon emissions.

“At a time when the entire world is struggling to tackle the repercussions of climate change, it has become vital for all countries to establish realistic and tangible solutions to attain carbon neutral targets,” Paddy Padmanathan, CEO of ACWA Power, explained. 

Red Sea destination, the world’s first renewable tourism destination, is a shining example of environmental sustainability, offering carbon-neutral infrastructure and services without sacrificing the destination’s quality of life. 

All of these facilities will be delivered by ACWA Power, which is totally autonomous from the national energy grid under one unique arrangement for a contract of this size, in addition to being the first destination to achieve the principles of carbon neutrality and zero plastic waste,” he indicated.

“We are proud to partner with the Red Sea Development Company in setting new global standards that represent a quantum leap in the national transformation in the future of long-term energy services that are clearly framed by the recently announced (NDC) that pursues the climate change targets set at CoP21 in Paris,” Padmanathan added.

The Red Sea Development Company is currently working on a new deal for “Amaala” to provide a package of specialized utility services in one agreement, similar to the Red Sea destination agreement, in order to achieve integration between the two projects and ensure that they are supplied with energy supplies that are completely independent of the national electricity grid.

It’s worth mentioning that the Red Sea resort has already completed significant development work and is on track to welcome visitors by the end of 2022. 

The first phase, which contains 16 hotels, is expected to be completed in 2023.

The Red Sea resort will contain 50 hotels with a total of 8,000 hotel rooms, as well as more than 1,000 residential units scattered across 22 islands and six inland locales when it is completed in 2030. 

An international airport, luxury marinas, golf courses, and a variety of recreational and leisure facilities will all be part of the resort.