Saudi Renewables Tracker · captive and corporate
Al Khafji solar desalination plant PV
A solar PV project at Al Khafji, Eastern Province. Stage: Operating.
The record
What the sources publish for this project
- Capacity
- Not publishedSources disagree and no primary source states the photovoltaic capacity; see the readings.
- Technology
- Solar PVPhotovoltaic field supplying a seawater reverse-osmosis plant of 60,000 m³ a day
- Stage counted on this site
- OperatingAs published: “In use since its launch in 2018” (Arab News)
- Agreement or award
- January 2015
- Commercial operation
- 2018
- Owners and developers
- Advanced Water Technology (developer)
- Supplies
- The Al Khafji desalination plant it supplies
- Engineering and construction
- Abengoa
- Arrangement
- Built into the plant it supplies
- Country
- Saudi Arabia
- Location
- Al Khafji, Eastern ProvinceLocality and region only; plant coordinates are not published
Advanced Water Technology is the commercial arm of KACST and is owned by Taqnia (Abengoa). Siemens names Rawafid Industrial and Advanced Water Technology as the parties that commissioned the completed plant.
Modelled output
Estimated annual generation
No output estimate. The source states no electrical capacity, so there is nothing to multiply.
Sources
Where each figure comes from
| Publisher | Publication | Published | Read on | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abengoa (via PR Newswire) | Abengoa and AWT to develop the world's first solar-powered desalination plant, in Saudi Arabia | 21 January 2015 | 24 September 2026 | Procurer, developer or owner |
| Siemens | Press release PR201910175622EN (seawater desalination plants in Saudi Arabia) | 18 October 2019 | 24 September 2026 | Procurer, developer or owner |
| Arab News | How solar-powered desalination allows Saudi Arabia to produce potable water sustainably | 21 June 2024 | 24 September 2026 | Press or compiler |
| Global Energy Monitor | Ras Al-Khafji Desalination Solar Facility | Undated | 24 September 2026 | Press or compiler |
| Wikipedia | Al-Khafji solar desalination plant | Undated | 24 September 2026 | Press or compiler |
Where sources disagree
Both readings, and the one counted
Capacity
- 20 MWac — Global Energy Monitor
- 10 MW — Wikipedia
Counted on this site: Neither
Why: Both are secondary compilations and neither cites a primary figure this site could read, so the capacity is left out of every total.
Solar and wind resource
The resource at Al Khafji
NASA POWER's long-run means for the 0.5° cell that holds the locality: an area-level picture, not a site measurement.
5.36 kWh/m²/day
Global horizontal irradiance
About 1,956 kWh/m² a year
3.94 kWh/m²/day
Direct normal irradiance
6.0 m/s
Wind at 50 m
26.4 °C
Air temperature
Warmest month July, 35.8 °C
Aerosol optical depth: 0.54 · Dustiest month April
| January | 3.44 |
|---|---|
| February | 4.18 |
| March | 5.20 |
| April | 5.72 |
| May | 6.66 |
| June | 7.34 |
| July | 7.02 |
| August | 6.76 |
| September | 6.08 |
| October | 4.92 |
| November | 3.62 |
| December | 3.16 |
Source: NASA Langley Research Center POWER Project, climatology 2001–2020, public domain; retrieved 2026-09-24. Cell N28.0E48.5, native resolution 1° (CERES SYN1deg). These data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) POWER Project funded through the NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program.
Saudi captive and corporate solar, 24 September 2026 (2026-09)