SABIC may seek proposals for Yanbu solar plant by early 2020

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is working on a feasibility study along with partners for a 300-megawatt solar photovoltaic park in Yanbu, the petrochemicals giant said in its 2018 sustainability report.

“This project for renewable energy would supply electricity to our locally based affiliates. If feasible, we will request project developers for proposals by the end of 2019 or early 2020,” it added.

SABIC, the world’s fourth-biggest petrochemicals company, said it is working towards its 2025 vision, focusing on four key performance indicators of greenhouse gas, energy, water, and material loss intensities.

“We will target projects that help achieve our goals,” it stated in the report.

In Saudi Arabia, SABIC’s manufacturing affiliates are working towards the “2019 Saudi Energy Efficiency Program” (SEEP) targets. It has also developed a new “Front Liner Training Program” to engage operations and maintenance staff in helping achieve its sustainability objectives.

“We will continue rolling this program out to all global sites in the coming years,” the report noted.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said in January this year that the Kingdom is planning to create a renewable energy hub with the capacity to generate more than 200 gigawatts (GW) of electricity.

The country will develop domestically close to 60 GW of renewable energy capacity, of which 40 GW will be photovoltaic cells, 3 GW will be concentrated solar power, and 16 GW will be through wind, he stated.

Write to Parag Deulgaonkar at parag.d@argaamplus.com