1.2 GW power and desalination plant completed in Saudi Arabia

Global power company Alstom recently announced the successful completion of the handover of the 1.2 GW Shoaiba III steam power plant to the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), following the completion of the project's final unit. Comprising three individual 400 MW blocks, construction of the Shoaiba III plant began in September 2008 and has been built around Alstom's STF40 steam turbines and GIGATOP 2-pole turbogenerators. The plant is fired by crude oil.

To meet stringent Saudi environmental regulations, it is said to utilize environmental control systems. A seawater flue gas desulphurisation (SWFGD) system drastically helps to cut emissions by using brine to strip sulphur oxides from the flue gas, whilst NOx-reducing tangential firing technology employed in the boilers mitigates nitrogen oxides - both helping make Shoaiba III a cleaner electricity provider.

Finally, the latest ALSPA power control systems ensure efficient management of the plant, so that it can meet the demands placed on the grid in a region, which includes the Holy City of Mecca. Shoaiba III will be instrumental in helping Saudi Arabia meet the rising demands for electricity across the Kingdom. Located on the Red Sea coast 100 km south of Jeddah, Shoaiba III is part of the Shoaiba facility also known as 'the Giant of the Middle East,' which now generates a total of 5,600 megawatts to the Saudi grid from its fourteen units.