Project Commissioner

NASEEM ENERGY COMPANY

Project Creator

SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co., Ltd.

Project Overview

This project creates a high-efficiency, low-emission combined cycle power plant (CCPP) that seamlessly integrates cascaded energy utilization with human-centered design. By doing so, it ensures reliable power generation while minimizing environmental impact, setting a new benchmark for sustainable industrial infrastructure in the modern era.

Team

SEPCOIII: Guanghai Sun, Xiaofei Li, Xiaowei Zhang, Wei Zhang, Yuwei Shang, Lian Chen, Wenlong Bi, Xinchun Li, Yi Xin, Zhiqi Kang, Longxiang Dong, Jian Nie, Qiuling Ye, Hui Li, Shakti.Singh, Zixin Li, Quantong Han, Zengyu Ma, Yanguang, Yin SARGENT&LUNDY: Pinkesh Patel, Harishkumar, Dominic Fernandes, Tejas Thakar, Sitaram Bai, Henry Zhou, Christopher Hornish, Dan Perlin

Project Brief

Responding to the region’s growing demand for reliable clean power amid rapid economic growth, Saudi Arabia Nairyah 1 1800MW CCPP EPC Project leverages advanced gas-steam combined cycle technology to create a highly efficient and dependable energy hub. While optimizing power generation efficiency, the project places equal emphasis on operational safety and personnel well-being. Clear functional zoning systematically enhances safety, while smooth circulation routes and environment control methods (such as optimized ventilation, noise reduction, and glare-free lighting) collectively foster a more comfortable, focused, and productive environment for operations and maintenance teams. The result is a modern power facility that harmonizes technological excellence, operational reliability, and genuine human care.

Project Innovation/Need

The project’s standout innovation lies in its holistic integration across four key dimensions:

- Energy Efficiency Reimagined: High-temperature exhaust from gas turbines is captured and repurposed to drive a secondary steam cycle, converting waste heat into additional power and substantially improving the plant’s overall energy efficiency.

- Thoughtful Layout: Designed around the core flows of production, personnel, and logistics, the plant utilizes a clear zoning strategy encompassing the main power block, auxiliary facilities, non-production areas, and a dedicated carbon capture zone. This layout ensures smooth operations, efficient management, and reliable safety segregation.

- Human-Centered Design: High-risk operational zones are physically separated from offices and rest areas. Integrated systems—including forced ventilation, vibration damping for noise control, and glare-free lighting—collectively create a safer, healthier, and more comfortable working environment for operations and maintenance staff.

- Engineered for Endurance: The primary structure utilizes reinforced concrete and hot-dip galvanized steel with high corrosion resistance. Critical components are selected for high seismic resilience and fatigue resistance, ensuring long-term structural integrity even under demanding conditions such as sustained vibrations and high temperatures.

Design Challenge

The project’s primary challenge lay in reconciling the high-density arrangement of equipment within a constrained site—without compromising stringent safety standards. This meant mitigating the structural impacts of vibration and extreme heat from large-scale machinery while guaranteeing absolute separation between high-risk zones and areas where personnel work and rest.

To strike this delicate balance, the design integrates materials with exceptional seismic resilience and fatigue resistance, supported by meticulous site planning and a comprehensive suite of safety systems—including automated fire suppression, emergency lighting, intuitive evacuation signage, and other wayfinding features—to accelerate response time and facilitate fast evacuations during emergencies. These approaches create a compact yet highly functional facility that seamlessly unites safety, operational efficiency, and human-centered care.

Sustainability

From operational management to end-of-life recycling, sustainability underpins every phase of the project.

The primary structure is constructed using highly recyclable materials—principally reinforced concrete and steel—selected to maximize circularity and minimize environmental footprint. An integrated water management system further enhances resource efficiency by harvesting rainwater and treating wastewater for reuse, effectively closing the water loop. Moreover, the plant’s advanced combined cycle technology significantly reduces carbon emissions compared to conventional methods.

As a result, Saudi Arabia Nairyah 1 1800MW CCPP EPC Project stands not merely as a reliable source of clean power, but as a benchmark for the clean energy future, demonstrating how industrial progress and ecological stewardship can advance in harmony through thoughtful innovation.