Saudi Arabia - Leading global engineering and project management services company Assystem has announced that it has been appointed by Saudi-based Enowa to conduct a suite of pre-development studies for seven planned solar photovoltaic parks in the Tabuk and Duba regions of the kingdom.

Enowa is the water and electricity subsidiary of NEOM, the developer of the mega Saudi futuristic city coming up in the country's northwest on the Red Sea.

According to Assytem, the sites earmarked to host the solar parks stretch over 420 sq km, potentially amounting to more than 20GW (accounting for around 65% of land use) in energy generating capacity.

These solar parks will directly contribute to NEOM's vision to become the world's most advanced renewable energy hub and the first at-scale fully renewable electrical system, it stated.

As per the deal, Assystem will deploy its experts to provide a range of services, which include a site assessment study, preliminary design of parks and master planning, environmental baseline surveys, an environmental and social impact assessment study, and permitting studies.

Within this scope, various studies such as geotechnical, geophysical, topographical, hydrological, glint and glare, and corrosion assessments, energy yield calculations, and advanced design of the parks will also be conducted, it stated.

An independent engineering group based in Paris, Assystem is a leading provider of services in design, construction, supervision, commissioning and operation of complex projects and industrial infrastructure, mostly in the nuclear industry.

Kerem Sadiklar, Assystem's Global Head of Siting and Environmental Services, said: "This project marks one of the first steps towards realizing the deployment of solar PV on a truly massive scale – directly contributing to NEOM's ambitious 100% renewable energy goal. Assystem is proud to be delivering its high-quality siting and environmental services on behalf of such an exciting and significant initiative."

Assystem, he stated, is playing a leading role in the global energy transition, supporting the deployment of low-carbon technologies with more than 6500 experts across 12 countries of operation.

It is dedicated to assisting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in realising its commitment to implementing measures which aim to reduce its emissions by 278 MtCO2e annually from 2020 to 2030, he added.

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