Images Show Power Plant Nears Completion at World's Biggest Construction Site
Images shared by Neom's Green Hydrogen Company (NGHC) show the world's largest green hydrogen plant nearing completion in Saudi Arabia and the company said it was now 80 percent complete.
Newsweek has sought comment from Neom, the world's biggest construction project.
Neom's plant is designed to support Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 ambition to drive economic diversification away from oil and gas and with a view to taking leadership in renewal energy. It is part of the overall Neom project, which is a centerpiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans for Saudi Arabia.
Some of Neom's projects have experienced delays and budget overruns, with a newly appointed leader now tasked with steering the initiative back on course. The completion of the green hydrogen plant would be a significant milestone.
"Construction has now reached 80% completion across all our sites: the green hydrogen facility, wind garden, solar farm, and transmission grid," NGHC announced on its social media accounts.
Covering an area of over 300 square kilometers (about 116 square miles), the plant aims at producing up to 600 tonnes of carbon-free hydrogen per day. The company said major equipment including wind turbines, electrolysers and hydrogen storage vessels are currently being installed.
Hydrogen can be used as a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels. Green hydrogen is a form that has been produced using renewable energy to split it from the oxygen in water. Most hydrogen is currently produced using fossil fuels.
Back in 2023, Neom said its plant was expected to be fully operational by 2026, with all of the green hydrogen produced to be globally exported as green ammonia although Bloomberg recently reported that it has struggled to find international buyers for its fuel.
The estimated $8.4 billion project is a joint venture between Neom, U.S.-based industrial gases company Air Products, and ACWA Power, a Saudi renewable energy firm backed by the country's sovereign wealth fund.
Despite its message on the environment, Neom's projects have faced criticism given that the massive city is being built in the desert and is set to include artificial lakes, a ski resort and industrial zones.
NHGC on LinkedIn: "We are building the world's largest green hydrogen plant at Oxagon in NEOM— and we're on track to deliver."
Roxana Shafiee, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment, as quoted by the Harvard Gazette in 2024: "Even if production costs decrease in line with predictions, storage and distribution costs will prevent hydrogen being cost-competitive in many sectors. Our results challenge a growing idea that hydrogen will be the 'Swiss army knife of decarbonization' and suggest that the opportunities for hydrogen may be narrower than previously thought."
The company said 4 GW of solar and wind power generation is scheduled for completion by mid-2026 while the first ammonia product is expected to become available in 2027.
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