EDF participates in futuristic megalopolis project “Neom” in Saudi Arabia and lays off employees
– / AFP
Design plans for 500m high parallel structures known as “The Line” at the heart of the Red Sea megacity NEOM.
Environment – It’s a project for EDF “echo”For some of its employees it is a “Ecocide”. An in-depth investigation by Radio France’s investigative unit describes the anger of certain EDF employees after this Friday, March 1, the company announced that it was building a hydroelectric power station in the heart of the futuristic megalopolis “Neom”. The heart of the middle of the Saudi desert.
Estimated at several hundred billion dollars, the project, led by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, must get off the ground in 2030. It covers an area of more than 25,000 km2 and includes, among other things, a ski resort that will accommodate the 2029 Asian Winter Games. , a luxurious island on the Red Sea, or The Line, a “Building City” 500 meters high, As you can see in our video below.
Amidst these contradictions, this sprawling city is committed to being entirely pedestrian, “Zero Carbon”And to respect 95% of the nature surrounding the site, but at the same time host one of the largest airports in the world.
Paradox of a hydroelectric station in the desert
It is on these promises “Environmentalists” That the largest French electricity and gas supplier is surfing to justify its participation in Neom. “ The line is meant to run solely on renewable energy, wind and solar.” In this regard, our colleagues at Radio France suggest a member of the EDF.
Concretely, EDF will build a STEP (Pumped Energy Transfer Station), a type of hydroelectric power station that makes it possible to produce and store electricity and therefore protect against power cuts. Another advantage of this technology: it emits very little greenhouse gas, and is therefore perfectly compatible with the Saudi desire to build the city of the future. “Zero Emission”.
Apart from that hydraulic production is certainly not very polluting, but requires water. However, in the desert, this is a resource that is lacking. In the offer submitted by EDF to the Neom company signed at the beginning of 2024, which franceinfo was able to consult, it is specified that “Water will be taken from a large desalinated water supply pipeline located nearby”, And desalination plant will be built “Near the Red Sea”. Very expensive and energy-intensive installation.
“It’s not our EDF”
“ We are capturing water for projects that will not benefit the common people. Condemns trade unionists. ” Neom disturbs us because it is a pharaonic project (…) for luxury tourism in the middle of the desert. And that’s not sustainable at all.” Disputes, Jean-Yves Segura, Staff Representative and Force Superior (FO) Representative at EDF Hydro, France info.
The FO union also launched a survey last November among 860 EDF Hydro employees. Result: “73% of them want EDF to abandon the project. 17% believe EDF should continue”Jean-Yves Segura reports.
“It is not our EDF. It is a contradiction to ask for sanity in France and to be involved in such a crazy project abroad. EDF also mourns one of Hydro’s engineers, who vowed to stop the construction of STEP. “All avenues of appeal available internally have been activated without success”.
Worse, employees are convinced that the company pressures them not to rebel further. “Management at Neom is adamant. We have been told that if the project is too difficult for us to work on, we should leave the company. An agent says, “ Avoid broaching the subject during lunch break”. For its part, EDF denies, affirms has “Gives employees the option not to contribute to the project if they wish.”
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