Riyadh: In a significant boost for the development's sustainability efforts, Red Sea Global has announced the installation of 750,000 solar panels.

As it prepares for its first phase of opening, which will see 16 hotels, retail stores, and entertainment venues open and run entirely on renewable energy, the giga-project has also built five solar stations.

RSG is also putting in place the largest battery storage facility in the world, with a 1,200 megawatt-hour capacity, which will allow the business to achieve complete grid independence. 

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By 2030, the vacation spot will run 50 resorts with up to 8,000 hotel rooms and more than 1,000 residential structures dispersed across 22 islands and six inland regions.   

In line with Saudi Arabia's goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, RSG has made sustainability a central tenet of its development along with the giga-project of NEOM.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, John Pagano, CEO of RSG, stated that fulfilling this commitment entails making sure that the world's top tourist destination is entirely powered by renewable energy. 

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According to Pagano, the first phase of the Red Sea Project included the installation of electroluminescent panels at the five solar stations, and because the project is totally independent from the national grid, it is not only the biggest of its kind in the world but also the first of its kind ever.

Starting with their arrival at the Red Sea International Airport and continuing through their movements within the sites and between the nearby islands, all vehicles transporting visitors to the Red Sea Tourism Project will be entirely powered by solar energy.

In accordance with the SPA, RSG also makes investments in human capital. In collaboration with the Human Resources Development Fund, it has given 500 people scholarships for vocational training, of which 50 have received training in renewable energy. 

By 2030, the company wants to have trained 10,000 Saudis in various fields.

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RSG is working to ensure that half of its workforce is Saudi-born in addition to this. The company was getting closer to achieving that goal, according to Tracy Lanza, global head of brand development at RSG, who was speaking to Arab News in May on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market 2023 in Dubai.  

"The target is 50-50, and we are almost there. From a marketing perspective, I can say that our team is at 67 percent and expanding. We also, I believe, have the highest proportion of Saudi women working for the company, said Lanza.