The Saudi state-owned mining company Ma'aden and the US solar technology developer GlassPoint have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a 1,500 MWth solar steam project at Maaden's alumina refinery in Ras al Khair (Saudi Arabia). The project, which is expected to halve the alumina refinery's carbon emissions (-0.6 MtCO2/year), will use Glasspoint's enclosed trough concentrated solar power (CSP) technology to produce 3 TWh/year of steam that will be used to refine bauxite ore into alumina. It will also include molten salt storage. The project should enter construction in 2024 and should start producing steam in 2026.
Solar accounts for 1% of Saudi Arabia's installed capacity with around 740 MW (2021). Two solar projects totalling 350 MW are currently under construction, including the 300 MW Jeddah solar plant build by a consortium led by Masdar with EDF Renewables and Nesma Company, and around 5 GW under development.
Interested in Power Plants?
Enerdata has developed a market research service to screen, monitor and analyse the development of power generation assets.
Power Plant Tracker offers an interactive database and a powerful search engine covering power plants worldwide – including both installed and planned capacities for renewables and fossil fuels.