Environment & Energy | Wednesday 5 August, 2015 4:27 am |

The solar-power plant, “Layla,” in Aflaj province, will be opened shortly, Saleh Al-Awaji, chairman of Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), has said.
The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is one of the signatories, along with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and Taqnia Energy, to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the launch of the first 50 megawatt solar power station at Al-Aflaj. 

Al-Awaji described the start of the power plant as a move toward a newfound reliance on renewable energy for electricity generation. “It will make Aflaj the first province in the Kingdom to benefit from clean energy. There are similar projects that the company will undertake in the future.” He recalled that the strategic transformation program approved by the board of directors in April 2014 includes plans to ration the use of fossil fuels and raise the efficiency of its use in power plants, through a transformation of the power plants of the company from simple cycle to combined cycle, as well as by providing investment opportunities for the implementation of projects for converting stations to renewable energy electricity.

Al-Awaj said the implementation of these projects is expected to save 1.5 million barrels of fuel per day, which translates into 550 million barrels per year. 
He described the solar power plants as environment friendly, confirming that the new project will reduce harmful emissions by 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.