Red Sea Global has installed 750,000 solar panels and five solar stations to power the first phase of the Red Sea giga-project in Saudi Arabia.
To be powered entirely by renewable energy, the Red Sea‘s initial phase includes 16 resorts. Three of these will open this year, as will the destination’s airport. In 2024, a further 13 hotels will open.
Upon completion in 2030, the Red Sea will house 50 resorts across 22 islands and six inland sites, as well as luxury marinas, golf courses, entertainment and leisure facilities, and F&B.
John Pagano, CEO of Red Sea Global, said the installation of electroluminescent (EL) panels at the five solar stations has been completed as part of the project’s first phase (via the Saudi Press Agency).
One of the solar stations is located close to the Six Senses Southern Dunes resort, two can be found near the Desert Rock mountain resort and Sheybarah Island, and the final two will power the remaining hotels and Turtle Bay village.
“One of my favourite sayings is that we’re inspired by nature, but we’re led by science,” Pagano told blooloop in a recent interview.
“We came to the conclusion very early on that sustainability is no longer enough,” he said. “Sustainability is by definition maintaining the status quo, and that’s great to a point. But we’re past the point of just maintaining the status quo. The world is on a terrible trajectory. As humanity, we need to start doing things that actually seek to undo the damage.”
Off-grid tourism destination
Red Sea Global is also implementing the world’s largest battery storage facility, meaning the Red Sea development will be the largest tourism destination in the world to be completely off-grid.
“We have no connection to the power distribution system here in the kingdom. We are generating our power solely by the sun,” Pagano told us.
