Saudi Aramco commissioned a wind turbine in Turaif, north west of the Kingdom, on Tuesday. The turbine, the first one of its kind in Saudi Arabia, will generate power and supply it to Saudi Aramco's bulk plant in the city. At a launch ceremony, Abdulkarim Al-Ghamdi, Executive Director, Saudi Aramco Power Systems, said that the turbine was a significant milestone for the Kingdom's renewable energy plan. Spearheaded by Saudi Aramco in collaboration with its partners, the project comes within the framework of the Kingdom's efforts to diversify sources of energy by introducing renewable energy. Saudi Aramco opted for Turaif from four potential sites due to its good wind resources, ease of access, and availability of power. The turbine will generate 2.75 megawatts of power, sufficient to sustain around 250 housing units. Saudi Aramco will be saving as much as 18,600 barrels of diesel per year, which otherwise would have been used for generating power. The wind turbine will be a striking feature along the Turaif skyline, with its towering 145-meter height – that is, almost half the height of Riyadh's Kingdom Tower. At 120 meters, the rotor diameter is 50 percent wider than the wing span of the world's largest passenger jet, Airbus 380. GE has designed the turbine and its control system to minimize the noise emitted from the rotor blades, the tips of which can travel up to one third the speed of sound.
