The project also includes a 380 kV substation and 172 km of overhead transmission lines. The solar plant will play a critical role in powering the desalination plant with renewable energy, thereby reducing the use of 410,000 barrels of crude oil per year.

The contract signing ceremony was attended by the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Abdulrahman AlFadhli, who is also the chairman of the board at SWCC, along with SWCC’s Governer Abdullah AlAbdulkarim and Alfanar’s Managing Director, Sabah AlMutlaq and Executive VP Amer AlAjmi.

With a production capacity of 1 million cubic meters per day, the Jubail Desalination Plant is one of the largest water desalination plants in the world.

This solar energy project aims to provide electrical power to the plant at a lower consumption rate of 2.16 kWh per cubic meter.

“We are proud of SWCC’s trust in our capabilities as Alfanar is one of the first Saudi companies to invest in renewable energy across the Kingdom” said AlAjmi.

He added: “It is essential that we keep pace with the global energy transition and phase out dependency on fossil fuel for electricity generation.”

Within Saudi Arabia, Alfanar is aligned with the Saudi Green Initiative, which is a part of Vision 2030 and is investing strategically in renewable energy technologies, such as solar and wind energy.

Internationally, Alfanar has a global portfolio of 1.8 GW of renewable energy projects across Europe, India, and the Middle East including wind farms, solar parks, sustainable aviation fuel, CCUS technologies, green hydrogen, and green ammonia plants.