Saudis welcome Kingdom’s entry into the wind age

January 20, 2017

Riyadh, Jan 20: Saudi Arabia, expecting to diversify energy sources in line with plans established under Vision 2030, officially entered the wind power age with the commissioning of its first utility-scale wind turbine by Aramco and GE.

Saudis

The Kingdom marked the commissioning of its first wind energy turbine by providing electricity to its bulk plant facility in Turaif in northwestern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The launch of the first wind energy turbine, developed in partnership with GE, marks a milestone in Saudi Aramco’s plan to realize the national renewable energy target defined in the Saudi Vision 2030.

Dr. Majed Abdullah Al-Hedayan, a legal consultant specializing in foreign investment, told Arab News that “the commissioning of this first wind energy turbine is significant as it marks the start of something new in the energy sector in the Kingdom and very much in line with Saudi Vision 2030 that has set an initial target of generating 9.5 gigawatts of renewable energy.”

He added: “It also assumes significance as it came in the week that Khalid Al-Falih, minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, announced that the Kingdom will shortly launch its renewable energy program, a new engine of growth in wind and solar sectors.”

Nevertheless, it will be another alternative to reduce the energy costs and will encourage more investment projects in near future, he added.

Abdullah Inayat, co-founder and media relations director of W7 Communications, told Arab News that “the successful commissioning of the first utility scale wind power turbine is a welcome step toward reliance on renewable energy which is part of Vision 2030 plan.

“Moreover, this successful demonstration highlights the viability of deploying wind power in the Kingdom to diversify energy sources and to meet an increase in demand,” he said.

Abdulkarim Al-Ghamdi, Saudi Aramco’s executive head for power systems, said in a statement that “Saudi Aramco is actively promoting the reduction of energy intensity across the Kingdom by advocating responsible policies, awareness and energy innovation.”

The new wind turbine will generate 2.75 megawatts of power at its peak, enough to power around 250 Saudi households, and it will also reduce the burning of diesel for power generation by 18,600 barrels of oil equivalent per year.

The new initiative for renewable energy will also help reduce the Kingdom’s greenhouse gas emissions and will contribute to global climate action outlined in the Paris climate agreement.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Riyadh, Apr 30: Saudi Arabia on Thursday recorded 1,351 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 22,753, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The ministry also announced 5 more deaths and 210 new recoveries, raising the total number of fatalities and recoveries to 162 and 3,163 respectively.

Riyadh with 440 cases topped the list, followed by 392 cases in Makkah, 120 in Jeddah and 119 in Madinah.

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News Network
April 9,2020

Apr 9: The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, adopted a resolution to grant paid leave to select categories of employees at the federal government.

This move is part of a series of precautionary measures and procedures taken by the UAE government to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

The resolution stipulates that married employees of the federal government may take fully paid leave to take care of their children below the age of 16. The age condition shall not apply to people of determination, as well as in cases where a spouse is subject to self-isolation or quarantine that requires no contact with family members, upon a decision from the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

The resolution also applies to employees whose spouses work in vital health-related occupations, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical jobs that require exposure to infected people, as well as employees of quarantine centres, throughout the emergency period witnessed by the country.

Pursuant to the resolution, the relevant ministry or federal authority may ask employees holding essential technical occupations to work remotely instead of taking leave.

The resolution was issued in line with the UAE government's keenness to support employees and provide them with a safe and healthy working environment, as well as to protect the health and safety of government employees and their families, during the current crisis that requires greater efforts, additional working hours, and in some cases, exposure to infected people.

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News Network
March 18,2020

Dubai, Mar 18: Emirates, one of the world's biggest international airlines, has asked pilots to take unpaid leave to help it mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered demand for global travel.

"To this end you are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave," the airline said in an internal email to pilots, seen by Reuters.

Emirates earlier this month asked some staff to take unpaid leave, although at that time it was not available to pilots.

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