The Water and Electricity Holding Company (Badeel), a wholly-owned company of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and ACWA Power have signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) for the development, and operation of three major new solar PV Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects in Saudi Arabia.
The solar projects are part of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) which is led and supervised by the Ministry of Energy, with PIF mandated to develop 70 percent of NREP’s target capacity.
The new projects will be jointly owned by Badeel and ACWA Power, a leading developer, investor, and operator of power generation, water desalination, and green hydrogen plants worldwide.
Marco Arcelli CEO – ACWA Power
“As a Saudi national champion, we are incredibly proud to lead Saudi Arabia’s ambitious energy diversification plans and contribute towards achieving its Net Zero targets. Today’s signing of three Power Purchase Agreements marks a significant milestone for ACWA Power, representing the largest single transaction for solar projects in our company’s history. This achievement illustrates our firm commitment to a sustainable future for Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
These projects intend to produce a combined capacity of 4.55GWac of renewable energy, powering approximately 750,000 households.
According to the statement, “The Ar Rass 2, Saad 2 and Al Kahfah projects have a capacity of approximately 2,000MWac, 1,125MWac, and 1,425MWac of renewable power respectively, with a combined value of $3.25 billion (SAR12.2 billion). Financial close for these projects is expected by the third quarter of 2023.”
Mr. Mohammed AlBalaihed, Head of Energy and Utilities at PIF, said that, “The three new solar projects are part of PIF’s commitment to developing 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy by 2030, in line with the National Renewable Energy Program.”
