With a rapidly growing population and expanding industrial sector, Saudi Arabia has made power generation a key part of its ambitious development plans. Demand for electricity is expected to double from 55GW to 120GW by 2030.

Rabigh 2 is a 2,800MW heavy-fuel-oil-fired power plant, located on the Red Sea coast about 150 kilometres north of Jeddah.

All four units were successfully completed in 2015 and dispatch electricity to the transmission grid system during peak periods. This achievement represented a major milestone for the project; with the addition of 2,800MW, the Rabigh power plant is now the single largest power station operating in Saudi Arabia.

The Rabigh 2 power project was the sixth stage of the plant’s development. It already had six oil-fired conventional thermal units and 31 closed/open-cycle gas turbine units.

Rabigh 2 is the first power plant in the kingdom’s Western Province to meet the environmental criteria of the International Finance Corporation/Presidency of Meteorology & Environment requirements; the project owner, Saudi Electricity Company, claims the facility is the first green power plant.

From the conception stage to completion, the project team faced various challenges that were overcome with highly skilled project management, engineering excellence and practical administration.