PROJECT FEATURE LONGi delivered 406MW of its solar panels Hi-MO 5 for the Red Sea project in Saudi Arabia

On 24 November 2022, LONGi Solar Technology Co , Ltd (LONGi) announced the delivery completion of 406MW of its bifacial PV panels Hi-MO 5, for the Solar plant developed by PowerChina SEPCO III for Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Solar PV Project

LONGi hosted today a ceremony to celebrate the successful delivery where LONGi confirmed that the production process is aligned with the delivery dates and all upcoming shipments will be on time accordingly, which ensures the commissioning of the Red Sea project

About the ceremony

Upon invitation, Senior leaders of PowerChina SEPCO III from Riyadh attended the ceremony, alongside local partners who played an essential role in seeing the project

Dennis She, Senior Vice President of LONGi Group attended this ceremony and made the opening speech today, he expressed appreciation for all partners concerned in the project. “Based on the respective market competitiveness and technological resource advantages in the photovoltaic field, we are all pride of being the most key participants of the 406MW Solar Project, which is a key point for further cooperation and also an important breakthrough to achieve Kingdom 2030 vision, to contribute to the overall energy mix up to 50% By 2030 LONGi will spare no effort to contribute to the region’s energy transformation ” Mr She said at the ceremony

About the Red Sea Solar PV project

The Red Sea Project is the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project currently in development in Saudi Arabia that is managed by The Red Sea Development Company (TDC) and forms part of the Saudi Vision 2030 program Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced the project in July 2017, focusing on luxury and ecotourism to attract visitors to the Red Sea coast.

This project is currently the world's largest energy storage project under construction and the world's largest off-grid integrated smart energy project After the project is completed, it will have important demonstration significance and provide useful reference and experience reference for other comprehensive smart energy projects

SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd. is cooperating with ACWA to participate in the design, build, operation and transfer of The Red Sea Project’s utilities infrastructure. Power China SEPCO III is the EPC.

The project sits over 28,000 km² of pristine lands and waters, includes a vast archipelago of more than 90 islands, and will set new standards in regenerative tourism and sustainable development With sustainability at its core, supporting infrastructure emphasizes renewable energy, water conservation, and reuse

UAE NetZero by 2050: Going Forward!

RE Integration Pillars and Success Factors

AUTHOR:

FADI MAALOUF Chief Technology Officer Dii Desert Energy

For over a decade, the UAE’s journey towards GHG emissions reduction was an impressive success story It has set the pace in the MENA region with record-breaking renewable energy project tariffs and project capacities GHG emission reduction in the UAE electricity sector, aka green electrons, took centerfold.

Going forward, UAE’s strategy is envisaged to be aligning with two major tipping points Firstly, over the past few years, green molecules emerged from the sidelines since green electron costs have reached levels that enable green molecule production at competitive costs in the near future. Secondly, NetZero by 2050 target requires more than just the electricity sector GHG emissions reduction The complete energy sector is now at focus With that in mind, and in addition to GHG emissions reduction, carbon capture utilization and/or storage (CCU/CCUS) will be required to reinforce NetZero targets CCU/CCUS will not only enable GHG emissions reduction but will also enable the creation of an e-fuels market for hard-to-abate sectors like aviation and shipping (e Kerosene, e-Methanol)

An integrated strategy of both green electrons and molecules, amongst others, will be crucial for NetZero achievement How would such an integrated strategy look like and what needs to be considered? At a high level, such an abstract or concept may be formed around a scope and its pillars as follows:

RE Integration General Theme and Scope

Renewable energy integration is no longer just green electrons (power and electricity) The “Green” is now a must-have “Green Electrons” and Green Molecules”.

Going forward, both “Greens” must be considered in a balanced approach, with neither bias nor preference since both are complementary enabling tools for NetZero

Power and electrical systems cannot continue to be silo systems. Green electrons and energy storage are integral parts of such a system, from planning to implementation and market transaction

Back to basics kind reminder: demand side management and energy efficiency are and remain vital objectives on the road towards NetZero.

Solid Foundation Basis:

Human capital is the first foundation pillar Invest in know-how and talent upscaling with local as well as global cooperation viewpoints Training, Innovation, and Technology Centers shall be established at regional hubs

Policy and Regulatory Framework:

Although local policy and framework are vital locally, this will achieve limited success

The framework must be expanded to regional and thereafter global coverage for cooperation and implementation.

Regional frameworks must be established and expanded to encompass both green electron and green molecules grids and networks

Codes and Standards:

Harmonization across borders will unlock massive RE integration and implementation potential o Codes shall transition to hybrid codes, thus encompassing electrons and molecules (power and energy carries), as well as energy storage

Hybrid codes shall be transparent in enabling and addressing green molecules criteria of additionality, geographic correlation, and temporal correlation

Hybrid codes shall adopt transitional phases for green molecules criteria, as well as energy storage

Hybrid codes will unblock the “last miles” for nearly 100% RE-based energy systems.

"Firstly, over the past few years, green molecules emerged from the sidelines since green electron costs have reached levels that enable green molecule production at competitive costs in the near future. Secondly, NetZero by 2050 target requires more than just the electricity sector GHG emissions reduction."

Supply and Demand with respect to long-term contractual arrangements:

Open source contracts shall be established for risk-balanced projects implementation.

Open source contracts achieve fast-track project development and realization

ETS (Emission Trading System):

RE has long suffered from biased direct/indirect subsidies for fossilbased energy

It is time to accelerate the implementation of local and regional ETSs to level the playing field by fairly pricing the environmental cost of energy sources

Funding:

Generally, there is no shortage of funding for manufacturing and project financing capital

The bottleneck is a biased allocation towards fossil-based energy.

RE manufacturing and project funding shall be coupled with suitable risk mitigation measures and guarantees to ensure sustainable low-cost financing

If track records are vital, then there is no doubt that UAE’s NetZero by 2050 will be another proud successful journey