The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with three companies for solar projects with a combined capacity of 5.5GW.
SPPC signed the PPAs with ACWA Power Company, the Water & Electricity Holding Company – a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – and Aramco Power. The projects include the Haden solar PV plant (2GW) and the Al-Muwaih Solar PV plant (2GW) in the Mecca Province, and the Al-Khushaybi PV project (1.5GW) in the Qassim Province.
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These projects are part of the National Renewable Energy Programme, supervised by the Ministry of Energy.
Additionally, energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud noted that Saudi Arabia will tender new renewables projects with a capacity of 20GW annually starting from 2024, aiming to reach between 100GW and 130GW of installed capacity by 2030, depending on electricity demand growth.
Since the start of the renewables programme to date, 21 projects have been awarded. Of the 21 projects, seven projects with a total capacity of 4.1GW are now connected to the grid, eight projects with a total capacity of 8.2GW are under construction and six projects with a total capacity of 7GW are in the financial close stage.
Aside from the PPA, Saudi Arabia recently launched a geographical survey project to identify suitable sites for renewables projects across the nation. The project will survey all regions of Saudi Arabia with a combined area of over 850,000 square kilometres, excluding populated and airspace-restricted areas and sand dunes.