Saudi Red Sea solar-storage microgrid reaches commercial operation

The project was developed for Red Sea Global’s tourism destination on Saudi Arabia’s western coast and operates independently from the national transmission network. ACWA Power lists 1,225.4 MWh of battery storage, 358 MWac of solar and 112.5 MW of backup generation under a 25-year utility concession. The battery system supports voltage and frequency control, black-start and fault-ride-through functions in an off-grid utility network. Its performance will be watched by developers planning islands, remote industrial sites and new communities where conventional grid extension is expensive.