SNC Lavalin announces Saudi expansion plans

SNC Lavalin is to open a subsidiary office in Saudi Arabia, as the firm looks to capitalise on the widespread use of district cooling in the country.

Speaking at the IDEA conference on district cooling, SNC Lavalin managing director Paul Beaudry revealed: “On the district cooling side of or company right now we are in the UAE, Bahrain and we are opening a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, its in the process of being done.”

He added: “We see Saudi Arabia as being a major player in this area. It’s going to be a full company there and we are bidding on a certain amount of projects. Saudi Arabia is one of those countries where everything there is huge, so you can rapidly get gigantic there.”

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries in the Middle East that currently employs a day night tariff system for electricity. This is seen as an advantage for district cooling as plants can use systems, such as thermal storage, to further save on power consumption. Beaudry commented: “The day night rates there are very good. Day night rates are something that is very good for the district energy industry and it would favour all kinds of options such as the thermal storage tanks and ice storage. These are things that work very well and it is something we feel will be very beneficial."

Although Saudi Arabia is seen as one of the most influential countries for district cooling, the UAE accounts for the largest portion of plants in the Middle East, with 64% located in the country. Beadury also praised the level of district energy in this region, stating that the concept works best in extreme temperatures, making this area perfect.

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