Impact of Addition of Large Scale Renewable Generation in North West Territory of KSA

The electricity demand in the Saudi Arabia is expected to reach around 125 GW by 2032. The ever increasing electric demand coupled with the need to conserve the oil and natural gas resources has provided KSA an incentive to move towards the path of the renewable. The North West (NWOA) territory close to Gulf of Aqaba in Saudi Arabia has been identified as one region with good potential for renewable energy development. This region is characterized by excellent and steady wind speed profile and solar irradiation. However, one of the major hurdles that slow down the increased utilization of renewable is grid access. This paper examines several alternatives to connect approximately 10000 MW of NWOA/NEOA renewable generation to the load centers in Central Operating Area (COA). Alternatives span the use of 500kV, 725kV, and HVDC technologies is considered. Techno-economic evaluation of those alternatives is presented in this paper.