{
  "id": 17362532,
  "title": "Where was Saudi Arabia’s first wind turbine installed?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/where-was-saudi-arabias-first-wind-turbine-installed",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-31T07:26:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Saudi Gazette",
    "slug": "saudi-gazette",
    "url": "https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/665882/saudi-arabia/where-was-saudi-arabias-first-wind-turbine-installed-inside-the-turaif-project"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Saudi Arabia inaugurated its first wind turbine for electricity generation in January 2017, located in Turaif, a region in the Northern Borders. The project, undertaken by Saudi Aramco, aimed to supply power to the company's petroleum products distribution facility. Saudi Aramco carefully selected Turaif among four potential locations due to its favorable wind resources, easy accessibility, and availability of connections to the electricity grid. The turbine, with a capacity of 2.75 megawatts, was expected to meet the electricity needs of around 250 homes and save approximately 19,000 barrels of oil annually by decreasing dependence on conventional energy sources. Standing on an 85-meter tower with a rotor diameter of 120 meters, the blade tips reached up to 145 meters above ground. The turbine was built with desert-specific protective features and connected directly to the electricity distribution network serving the facility. The wind-powered system was designed to cover the entire electricity demand of the facility, with any excess electricity being supplied to the primary power grid.",
  "summary": "TURAIF — Saudi Arabia's first wind turbine for electricity generation was inaugurated by Saudi Aramco in January 2017 in Turaif, a governorate in the Northern Borders Region.The project marked an early step in the Kingdom's use of wind energy to generate electricity, with the turbine installed to supply power to Aramco's petroleum products distribution facility.Saudi Aramco evaluated four…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
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        "title": "Houthi drone intercepted over Saudi Arabia's southern region, coalition says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/houthi-drone-intercepted-over-saudi-arabias-southern-region-coalition",
        "published": "2026-10-31T00:54:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ajel English",
        "title": "Saudi Arabia sees major education sector transformation under Vision 2030",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/saudi-arabia-sees-major-education-sector-transformation-under-vision",
        "published": "2026-10-31T06:22:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}