Feasibility study between Farasan Island and the mainland in Saudi Arabia

Feasibility study of 132kV HVAC cable interconnection between Farasan Island and the mainland in Saudi Arabia

CESI carried out a feasibility study for a submarine and underground cable interconnection between the Farasan Island and the mainland in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Farasan Island is a beautiful coral nature reserve located in the Red Sea. Currently, the population and the related electricity load are low but a planned development of tourism facilities will lead to an increase in power consumption and the need to invest in new power supply options.

Currently, the island is supplied by captive generation, but to support the expected increase in demand efficiently while protecting the environment, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) planned an interconnection to supply the island from the kingdom’s main grid.

CESI supported SEC in the following activities:

• Load forecast for both current and future peak demand, to understand how consumption will evolve in the long-term
• Power system studies to investigate the static and dynamic behaviour of the power system in Farasan when interconnected to the mainland
• Environmental analysis to identify the least harmful routing of the new link, with regard to human activities, the impact on fauna and flora and technical constraints to laying the underground cable. The study included an assessment of the relevant national laws and regulations
• Cost-benefit analysis of the different interconnection options and ranking of the best investment solutions