The lighting illumination at CUP was enhanced using solar lights to cover some of the plant area. This had improvement the night operation of the plant services. The project will consist of a 2nd phase that will relocate the public realm walkway light to CUP critical roads and areas.
The load consumption of all KAUST facilitates are thoroughly evaluated as part of the energy monitoring to the electrical network. Unreasonable consumption were observed to several unloaded power cables due to the existing cable losses. The concerned cables were isolated to eliminate aforementioned losses with a total cost avoidance of $ 120 K annually.
The electricity bills of KAUST are received on a monthly basis with more than 900 pages (PDF format) and in Arabic language, where it includes the details of the active & reactive power consumption, cost, VAT, meter services cost, and many other data related to the invoice.
To audit, monitor and ensure that the invoices data are accurate, We have developed a software called Invoice Digitalization System (IDS), which helps analyzing the power consumption of the university loads and detect all observations in the invoices. By utilizing the software, KAUST was able to receive a settlement/cost avoidance of more than $ 3 MM over the past four years, and at the same time, it was used as a base and eye opener for saving and energy conservation opportunities. KAUST is continuously improving the capabilities of this software to include more visualization tools, and reports.
An Electrical Power System Analysis Software (ETAP) was adopted to study KAUST Electrical network and evaluate all of the possible solutions to mitigate the miss-coordination issues with the upstream (SEC Substations). Such miss-coordination may lead to undesirable tripping of upstream breaker, which accordingly will result in power interruption to KAUST’s loads. The study determined the overall power system capabilities & constraints, and proposed setting & hardware related solutions to mitigate the electrical network issues.
In collaboration with Saudi Electricity Company, Power Enhancement assessment was conducted with the objective of evaluating and reducing the electrical network disturbances/Interruption and enhance its trust ability. The assessment have recommended maintenance strategies that helped in reducing the voltage fluctuations within the Electrical Network, and enhanced the power reliability delivered to the end users. The maintenance regime proposed by the assessment/evaluation led to an approximation of 50% reduction in the power quality incidents compared to previous years.
In collaboration with Saudi Electricity Company, more than 3000 of Power Meters were replaced with a smart type to achieved a smart digital experience. The new SMART Meters enable real time monitoring of electrical consumption, provide Mobily applications access, where the consumption of KAUST's loads can be monitored through different graphical tools with many features, such as high consumption alarms, power outages notification, and forecasted consumption. With the Smart Power Meters, KAUST will achieve fully automated reading/billing process, and hence gets accurate bills in a timely manner compared to the previous meters manual reading process.
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In alignment with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, KAUST is advancing a strategic solar PV project to diversify its energy sources. This initiative aims to generate approximately 70 MWdc of electricity through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) over a 25-year project lifecycle. By harnessing solar energy, the project will significantly reduce KAUST's carbon footprint, decrease reliance on oil, and lower electricity costs while providing a reliable and sustainable energy source. This effort reflects KAUST's commitment to utilizing natural resources efficiently and promoting renewable energy.
With an ambitious sustainability strategy that includes making the university as energy efficient as possible, a Power Monitoring System solution was adopted, which helps in tracking and analyzing energy use in real time across the University’s utilities and power networks. The aim was to implement technologies that helps in analyzing energy usage on-site and give KAUST’s technical team full visibility over power quality issues in the electric networks, potential areas for energy saving, and insights on how to reduce maintenance time. The solution gives a single view of electricity usage and analyzes any equipment issues, providing insights on how to maximize energy efficiency and avoid unexpected electrical downtime through customizable dashboards.