Saudi Arabia’s mammoth tourism project developer, The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) has inaugurated the first desalination plant using solar and wind energy in the Kingdom, as part of efforts to conserve the environment by lowering carbon emissions.
TRSDC’s chief of staff, Mr. Ahmed Ghazi Darwish has said that the initiative was launched in conjunction with Source Global, PBC, a US-based company that specializes in renewable drinking water.
Ahmed Ghazi Darwish Chief of Staff TRSDC
“The desalination technology used by TRSDC will fully depend on solar energy to raise condensation levels in the hydrogen panels to produce high-quality freshwater. The performance of the panels will be monitored through a smart application that will show the volume of water produced, the environmental impact of the panels, and maintenance alerts. The solar-powered desalination facility will be the world’s largest of its kind, capable of producing 2 million 330 milliliter water bottles every year.”
The production of 300,000 bottles annually will begin in the coming years. Reusable bottles will be used as part of the sustainable strategy to help reach carbon neutrality.
During the first phase of the plant’s construction, experts selected an ideal plot of land, and 100 hydrogen panels were placed after a virtual survey was conducted by specialists according to the plant’s specifications and requirements.
During the second and third phases, a total of 1,200 hydrogen panels will be added, and the facility will be supplied with required components and reusable bottles by enterprises based in the Kingdom.
The desalination technology is wholly sourced from Saudi companies and conforms to local and international water quality standards, including those of the GCC Standardization Organization, World Health Organization, Saudi Food, and Drug Authority, and Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.
