400 MW Onshore wind farm in Saudi Arabia starts electricity generation

Dumat Al Jandal, the Middle East’s largest wind farm and the first in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is now connected to the grid and has produced its first carbon-free megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy.

The 400-megawatt (MW) utility-scale wind power project is being developed by a consortium led by EDF Renewables and Masdar. The wind farm consists of 99 wind turbines from supplier and EPC contractor Vestas, each with a power output of 4.2 MW. Construction began in September 2019, and the wind turbine erection works are near completion.

When complete, the wind farm will generate carbon-free energy, powering up to 70,000 Saudi households, while saving 988,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year in support of the Kingdom’s climate change mitigation goals.

The wind farm is also contributing to the region’s economic activity, creating more than 600 local jobs during the construction phase. The project has also achieved a significant health and safety milestone by securing 1.8 million man-hours without a single lost-time injury (LTI) as a result of the strict health and safety procedures on site.

The Dumat Al Jandal wind farm will supply electricity under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the Saudi power generation and distribution company.