FREE energy and Zamil Operations & Maintenance were awarded a contract by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) for the design, procurement, installation, and commissioning of two grid-tied solar systems for transmission stations located in the areas of Dhahran and Al Qassim, KSA.

The two systems with a capacity of 355 kWp will allow the use of photovoltaic (PV) systems as a sustainable means of generating electricity to offset the energy demand of both sites from the SEC electricity grid. Grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will employ the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity that is fed directly into the electricity grid.

The Dhahran and Qassim transmission station facilities are 100% dependent on the SEC electricity grid to meet their energy needs. The two stations are in different climatic zones, where Dhahran is generally humid and Qassim is dry.

The objective of the project at hand is to allow the use of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems to employ the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity which is fed directly into the electricity grid without storage in batteries.

The project installation will undergo in the second quarter of 2021 and the design will adhere to the SEC standards. The system will be installed on the rooftop of the Dhahran station buildings, maximizing the utilization of the shade-free area available, and will be installed on an available shade-free ground area near the Qassim station building.

An optimal design is in the making to ensure the highest output possible from the planned PV capacity to be installed in the two areas.