EDF will build a hydroelectric power station in the middle of the Saudi megacity Neom. What sounds like a good joke is not, the “Nestor” project is indeed a reality.
What more megalomaniacal project than that of Neom, a futuristic city with dystopian accents emerging from the desert near the border with Jordan and Egypt? This idea, announced in 2017 by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, is already enough to give environmentalists gray hairs. Well for the latter to end up permanently bald, all that was missing was the announcement of the signing of a contract between EDF and Saudi Arabia for the construction of a hydroelectric power station in the heart of Neom. It’s done, welcome to the “Nestor” project!
Nestor, the project too many from EDF?
The information has just been revealed by the Radio France investigation unit. If the project makes the managers proud, on the employee side, it is not the same story. As a reminder, Neom is a project aimed at creating a megalopolis of 26,000 km2, about the size of Belgium or Belize. Saudi Arabia wants to ensure that this place is a real hub dedicated to innovation, tourism and work.
A $500 billion project, which its promoters like to describe as “futuristic” or “ambitious”. According to other (more rational) points of view, it is a real ecological disaster. The Neom project will bring together several sub-units: a floating port, a tourist island, an industrial complex and the famous city The Line.
It is therefore at the heart of this disproportionate project that EDF will build its future hydroelectric power station which will be used to power The Line. In reality, it is a pumped storage electricity transfer station (STEP). EDF explains: “ The Line is supposed to operate only with renewable energies, wind and sun, says a good expert on the project within EDF. However, wind power and photovoltaics are intermittent energies. So that there is electricity, even when it is dark or there is no wind, they need our STEP “. A clean technology that interests the Saudis since The Line is supposed to be a sustainable and environmentally friendly city project.
EDF has been on the job for several years now. In 2021, the company had determined the precise site that could accommodate the plant. The next two years were those of feasibility studies. A dark affair of the sponsored assassination of a journalist opposing the regime (Jamal Khashoggi) in 2018 had however heavily tarnished the image of Saudi Arabia internationally. Mohammed bin Salman (accused of this assassination by American intelligence) himself declared: “ no one will invest in Neom for years “. This was without taking into account EDF, which, despite this dark affair, proposed in 2019 that the country examine sites suitable for the establishment of a hydroelectric power station.
Internal differences and ethical questions
It goes without saying that the Nestor project is causing some tension within EDF. A discomfort, even, that employees feel in the face of their company’s commitment to a project described as ecocide. Jean-Yves Ségura, union representative, was interviewed by Radio France. He explained that he contacted EDF management in May 2022 about this project; an alert which was “ dismissed “.
According to a survey conducted by the FO union among 860 employees in November 2022, “ 73% of them want EDF to leave the project. 17% consider that EDF must continue. For many, this project is completely disconnected from reality and the needs of the Saudi population and goes against the company’s values. Faced with discontent, however, management seems unshakeable in its commitment. An EDF Hydro engineer spoke about the atmosphere on board regarding the Nestor project: “Our management made us understand that if we wanted to advance professionally and financially in the company, it was better that we agree to work on Neom.” The message could not be clearer.
The contract administratively finalizing the Nestor project was signed at the beginning of 2024 and the start-up of the plant is planned for 2029. It sometimes happens that technological ambitions exceed ethical considerations; EDF and its future Saudi adventure perfectly illustrate this observation.
Source : France TV
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